Within the financial results for the third quarter of 2021, Tesla gave a brief update on the development work of the the one 4680. As we know, the new batteries they will be fundamental to Elon Musk’s company growth plan. The latest update it dated back to the end of July how much the American manufacturer had made it known that it had made progress but that there was still work to be done to get the new cells to mass-produce.
According to reports, the American company has made further progress and has increased production of battery packs used for testing purposes. So far, Tesla points out, the test results have met their expectations.
The internal design of the 4680 cells continues to progress. We are producing an increasing number of battery packs for test purposes and, so far, the test results meet our expectations. The front and rear frame pieces, both of which are required for our battery pack structural architecture, are manufactured at Gigafactory in Texas.
This is certainly important news that suggests that the work is well underway. When will we see them on vehicles? In April 2021, Elon Musk spoke of at least 12 months of further waiting before everything was ready. Drew Baglino, Tesla’s SVP Powertrain and Energy Engineering, pointed out during the quarterly discussion that the new cells should be ready early next year. So, more or less in line with Musk’s past predictions.
However, Baglino also added:
This is a new architecture and unknown unknowns may still exist.
We don’t know exactly what the pilot production numbers are. What is certain is that Tesla will have to thoroughly test its new cells before starting mass production to be sure of their reliability.
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Tesla also provided other details regarding the batteries used by its electric. The American carmaker has once again confirmed its willingness to want use cells of the LFP type (lithium iron phosphate) on its Standard Range models produced worldwide.
These batteries have some important advantages such as lower costs and better reliability over time. Furthermore, they do not require nickel or even cobalt. However, on the other hand, they have a lower energy density and “suffer” more from low temperatures.
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