Clean Technica: Will 4680 Battery Cell Delays Impact Tesla Cybertruck Production?002770

Earlier this month, Tesla battery cell supplier Panasonic announced that it would delay the commercial production schedule of 4680 cells. Some wonder if the news could affect production of the Tesla Cybertruck, which is set to begin deliveries later this year.
According to Panasonic’s previous guidance, the company planned to begin production of its 4680 cells between April 2023 and March 2024. However, the electronics manufacturing giant now plans to start 4680 cell production between April 2024 and September 2024 (via Reuters).
Panasonic has decided to delay production to enhance 4680 cell performance even further. The company has been working on producing 4680 battery cells for years in collaboration with Tesla, but the two have yet to do so at high volumes.
Tesla introduced the new 4680 form-factor cells at its Battery Day event in 2020. The automaker set up a pilot production facility for the cells at its Fremont factory, codenamed Roadrunner at the time.
Shortly after Battery Day, both Panasonic and Tesla announced plans to set up a joint pilot production line at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada. However, Tesla hasn’t commented on how many cells this pilot plant is actually producing.
Panasonic has another pilot production line for 4680 cells at its factory in Wakayama, Japan. Tesla also started a production line for the cells at its Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, in 2021. Since then, the automaker has constantly upgraded the facility to speed up cell output.
According to Tesla’s latest report on 4680 cells, the electric carmaker was producing 868,000 units of these cells per week. This would barely be enough to make 1,000 Model Y battery packs, and Giga Texas alone recently reached a weekly production rate of 5,000 Model Ys.

Giga Texas achieves production of 5k Model Y/week pic.twitter.com/WwZrv3CYae
— Tesla (@Tesla) May 9, 2023

Panasonic’s schedule change is likely to impact the integration of the new cell into existing vehicles, and it could also affect Cybertruck volume production. In February, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the Cybertruck is slated to begin production later this year.
Tesla is already manufacturing alpha prototypes of the Cybertruck at Giga Texas. Using Giga Press casting machines from Italian manufacturer IDRA, Tesla is getting closer to the Cybertruck’s final production start each day.

Photo by Kyle Field.

The automaker is continuously trying to scale 4680 cell production, both at Giga Texas and at its Kato Road building near the Fremont factory. However, it isn’t yet clear how many Cybertruck battery packs the facilities can support per week/quarter/year.
Tesla’s internal 4680-cell production may not be adequate to supply enough cells for volume production of the Cybertruck. Previously, Tesla was aiming to scale up Cybertruck production in 2024, but it’s also unclear if this will be affected by Panasonic’s delays.
Alternatively, Tesla could discontinue the sale of Model Y with 4680 cells in them and divert the supply to Cybertruck production. Still, a Model Y has a roughly 70 kWh battery pack, while the Cybertruck is set to be much larger than the Model Y, requiring a larger battery pack. Tesla hasn’t yet disclosed the capacity of a Cybertruck battery pack.
Tesla and Musk have yet to comment on how Panasonic’s decision might affect plans to scale up Cybertruck production. However, the two have collaborated closely for years, so Tesla may have already been aware of Panasonic’s plan.
Originally posted on EVANNEX & Tesla Oracle. By @IqtidarAlii.

 

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.

Former Tesla Battery Expert Leading Lyten Into New Lithium-Sulfur Battery Era — Podcast:

I don’t like paywalls. You don’t like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Here at CleanTechnica, we implemented a limited paywall for a while, but it always felt wrong — and it was always tough to decide what we should put behind there. In theory, your most exclusive and best content goes behind a paywall. But then fewer people read it! We just don’t like paywalls, and so we’ve decided to ditch ours. Unfortunately, the media business is still a tough, cut-throat business with tiny margins. It’s a never-ending Olympic challenge to stay above water or even perhaps — gasp — grow. So …
If you like what we do and want to support us, please chip in a bit monthly via PayPal or Patreon to help our team do what we do! Thank you!

Advertisement

 

Go to Source