Tesla is buying battery materials to increase 4680 cell production – Chinese media

Tesla has been buying cathode rolls (parts of battery cells) from two Chinese battery companies since the second half of last year and transporting them back to the U.S.

Chinese media reports the two companies were selected as final suppliers after a thorough review of the production lines of different battery manufacturers.

It’s revealed that this imported battery cell material accounts for about 35% cost of the entire battery cell. Sources mentioned that Tesla is increasing its battery cell resources to increase 4680 battery production.

The report suggests that the EV company will continue to buy these battery cells until the third quarter of 2024. It was further said that Tesla’s battery partners Panasonic may also start 4680 batteries in the third quarter.

Related – Panasonic could launch upgraded EV battery by this year

Tesla 4680 battery cell

Tesla was expected to buy the cathode rolls from market giants CATL and BYD but the decision for this business was later dropped out of the table.

In 2020, Tesla officially introduced 4620 battery cells at the Battery Day event. The 4680 battery cell promises to increase 5X energy, increase vehicle range by 16%, and increase power output by 6 times.

Last October, Tesla announced a breakthrough of 20 million 4680 battery production at the Texas Gigafactory. Meanwhile, the company achieved half of this capacity in June of the last year. However, the company has not confirmed this resourcing information from official channels.

This large battery cell is critical for vehicles such as Cybertruck, which is currently rolling out in the U.S.

(via – ithome)