Tesla Cybertruck with 4680 batteries> teslamag.de

Photo: Tesla (trial production of 4680 batteries)

Production of the Tesla Cybertruck is set to begin this year, CEO Elon Musk has said repeatedly since last June and his chief engineer Drew Baglino confirmed recently — so it should actually be two years after the originally announced date. It wasn’t previously known what battery technology the electric truck should use, but now news agency Reuters wants to know: Tesla has decided on its own 4680 format and wants it to be supported by Asian partners.

Tesla struggled with dry electrodes

Similar to an electric car at half the cost at Investor Day in early March, Tesla announced at Battery Day in September 2020 that it would make batteries 56 percent cheaper with its own production of the larger 4680 format. The first use was in the Model Y from the German Gigafactory, but although its launch was also delayed, it started with conventional batteries from China and has remained so to this day. Tesla’s new plant in Texas, completed a little later, appears to continue building some Model Ys with 4,680 batteries, but also many older ones.

After all, Tesla had an alternative here, but that’s no longer the case with the Cybertruck. Although the company has also verified that the truck works with 2170 batteries as in the Model 3 and most of the Model Y or with cheaper LFP batteries, Reuters reported On Friday, citing informed sources. However, the decision fell on the 4680 format. Partners LG Energy Solutions and Panasonic may be able to supply such batteries in the required volume from Tesla itself.

At Tesla, plans seem to have been delayed, among other things, because the company wants to introduce not only the new look, but also a completely new production process. The electrodes have to be coated dry with the active substances instead of using the usual toxic putty, which then has to be dried, which takes up a lot of space and energy. According to Reuters, this is now possible with the anode, but still not satisfactory with the more critical cathode.

4680 Production starts at the partners

Tesla is said to have sought help from suppliers for the next generation of its 4,680 cells. On the one hand, this applies to the material level. According to a Reuters report, two Chinese companies should help reduce costs for this. In addition, the cathode material, which Tesla says it ordered from South Korea’s L&F in February, is for the 4680’s higher energy density batteries. In the Tesla batteries analyzed so far, this value is said to be lower than the best conventional batteries.

However, depending on how good the dry-painting process is and how committed Tesla is to it, the Cybertruck can use full partner 4680 batteries in place of or in addition to its own. Reuters has now reported that sources assume so. Panasonic already has a 4680 pilot line in Japan, where mass production is expected to begin before March 2024. LG Energy announced last year that it would commission a 4680 plant in its native South Korea in the second half of 2023.