Tesla's Dry Cathode 4680 Battery Cells Will Mean Cheaper, Better EVs

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During the 2024 Shareholder Meeting, Elon Musk announced that Tesla has made new innovations on the 4680 cell standard. Tesla has been working hard for several years to get a functional 4680 cell in production that either matches or beats the performance of the existing 2170 cell. The official Cybertruck account also shared an image (below) of the first 4680 dry-cathode process Cybertruck with its production crew on X.

We’re going to take a bit of a dive into the 4680, what exactly this new process and cell is, and then some of its possible advantages. So, grab your charging cable!

First prototype Cybertruck with in-house dry cathode 4680 cells – making it an all dry electrode vehicle pic.twitter.com/NzJxKQrRBp

— Cybertruck (@cybertruck) August 2, 2024

What is the Dry Process?

Dry Battery Electrode (DBE) is a different process overall from the current Wet Battery Electrode (WBE) that is common today. This dry process removes the highly toxic solvents and furnace baking processes from the equation, saving both time and space, while also being environmentally friendly.

The Dry Cathode we’re talking about specifically means that the electrode – the conducting terminal at the edges of the battery – is produced in a dry process. In the previous process, it was produced with a wet process.

Tesla’s 4680 cell suppliers – LG and Panasonic – have both been working hard to cut down on costs and ramp up their own 4680 cell production while Tesla works on their own internal improvements as well. If Tesla has found a means to easily scale the Dry Cathode method, it’ll make 4680 cells and the batteries that they are a part of - cheaper to produce.

The 4680 Cell

The 4680 cell - 46mm wide, 80mm tall

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Tesla has used the 4680 cells to make structural battery packs for the Model Y. However, these vehicles had poor charging performance and lower energy density, and they were quickly removed from sales. The sheer size of the 4680 cell made it difficult to cool, limiting its performance.

The updated 4680 cell was announced at the November 2023 Earnings Call as Cybercell, making a comeback for the Cybertruck. This new version was going to have better energy density, as well as improved charging performance.

Sandy Munro of Teardown Titan fame showed that this improved version has about a 12% energy density increase, a pretty significant improvement. You can watch his teardown of the Cybertruck below.

Tabless Design

The tabless design of the 4680 cell also has an impact on its production, and how easy it is to manufacture. Think of the tabs as the little nubs on the top of a regular small battery. The lack of tabs means that production of the cell body doesn’t have to pause to add the tabs, reducing the chance for defects with the elimination of a process, and making it faster to boot.

Removing the tab also helps in cutting down the distance that electrons have to travel to get in and out of the cell – this means less resistance, and less energy lost in the process, increasing overall vehicle efficiency.

Advantages

This new 4680 cell process has a few advantages – including an overall cost reduction of up to 50% compared to the current wet process. That’s in addition to the dry process being more environmentally friendly, which will also allow for manufacturing of the cell to scale quicker.

Tesla wants to move from the standard 2170 cell to the 4680 cell for several reasons. The biggest, by far, is cost savings. The 4680 cell is physically a bigger cell and can be used to structurally support the vehicle, meaning cost savings on both, the production of the 4680 cell and the structure of the vehicle.

Easy and Cheap

There’s more too – the 4680 cell will be easier to manufacture because of its bigger size. The 2170 cell is tall and thin, while the 4680 cell is wide and stout. In addition, its unique tab-less design is supposed to generate less resistance, improving charging speeds and cell performance.

Essentially, Tesla can fill the space taken up by 4,400 2170 cells with only 960 4680 cells. This results in a significant reduction in the material used to encase each individual cell, thereby saving space and maximizing energy density for the space the battery pack takes up.

All in all, that could mean a future price drop for the Cybertruck as well as increase the rate of production. Tesla has envisioned producing approximately 250,000 Cybertrucks per year, and they’ll need a lot of 4680 battery packs to do so.

In the future, we can see Tesla bringing the 4680 cell with all these improvements - and more - to the rest of its vehicle lineup, as they will eventually surpass the 2170 cell technology.

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Exclusive: Tesla’s AI Assistant Now Uses Vehicle Data for Personalized Responses

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As part of Tesla’s App Update 4.42.5, which is now available on both the Android and iOS App Stores, Tesla has rolled out an improved AI Assistant.

If you’re not familiar with Tesla Assist, it’s the company’s AI-powered assistant, which can be found in the Service section of the Tesla app. The assistant was first introduced with app update 4.35.5, and it has slowly improved to help answer the most common Tesla-related questions.

At first, Tesla Assist could answer general support questions like “What is Sentry Mode?” or “Why is my range lower than expected?” It acted as a helpful starting point for answering questions, but the responses weren’t personalized for you or your vehicle. However, with this latest update, that is changing.

Personalized Support

The latest version of Tesla Assist introduces personalized responses. You can specify which vehicle or product your question relates to and ask specific questions about your vehicle. For now, the responses are limited to a few categories, like tire pressure, however, we expect the assistant to have access to more vehicle information in the future.

For now, you can ask questions such as, “What alerts were recently triggered on my vehicle?” or “Is my tire pressure low?”. We’ve also been successful in asking whether a particular accessory, such as a key fob, would work with our vehicle.

Tesla provides these answers based on information in their owner’s manuals, tutorials, and your vehicle’s details and data.

Just like before, Tesla continues to provide links to related articles, such as the Owner’s Manual or the Service Manual, depending on the context.

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Future Releases

While the assistant can’t access every detail just yet — how many miles are on my vehicle — it’s already capable of pulling a lot of service-related information. It appears Tesla may be looking to expand this to other areas, with some responses stating, “Based on your vehicle’s data…”

It’s not clear what’s powering this assistant, but it could be some version of Grok, which will soon be available inside of Tesla vehicles.

The AI-based assistant can be found in the Service section of the Tesla app or by going into the main menu and tapping the question mark in the upper-right corner. Let us know if you’ve seen any other interesting responses from Tesla Assist.

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Tesla to Build Third Megafactory in Texas With $200M Investment

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Tesla has revealed the location of its third Megafactory, following Mega Lathrop and Mega Shanghai. The new facility will be in Brookshire, Texas, covering 1.6 million square feet—twice the combined size of Mega Lathrop and Mega Shanghai.

Tesla has had a lease deal at the Empire West industrial park since at least late 2021, where a third-party company has been managing the shipment of vehicle parts from Giga Texas and Fremont factories service centers across North America.

Mega… Factory?

The name says it all. Tesla’s Gigafactories focus on vehicle production—like Giga Texas, Giga Berlin, and Giga Shanghai—while Megafactories are dedicated to Tesla’s energy products.

Tesla Energy is expanding rapidly, with executives suggesting it could soon become one of the company’s largest revenue streams as demand continues to outpace supply.

Mega Brookshire will manufacture Megapacks and Powerwalls, Tesla’s primary stationary energy products. Both use LFP batteries, meaning their production won’t impact Tesla’s vehicle output, as most of the company’s cars rely on NMC batteries.

Looking at the Numbers

Tesla plans to invest approximately $194 million in upgrades and equipment across the two buildings, with the facility projected to generate between $8 billion and $10 billion in annual revenue.

Of that investment, $44 million will go toward facility improvements, such as parking, electrical upgrades, accessibility, and structural updates. The remaining $150 million will be allocated to Tesla-sourced manufacturing equipment for product production.

Tesla will also be employing approximately 1,500 people in the local community, which will be a considerable economic boost for the local residents.

Mega Brookshire Phase 2

The Megafactory plans also include funding for a distribution facility, with Tesla set to invest $31 million in its purchase and an additional $2 million for equipment and facility upgrades. Given its proximity to Giga Texas, it’s likely that Mega Brookshire’s distribution terminal will support the Tesla Semi.

This marks Tesla’s first factory announcement since Mega Shanghai. While there were initial plans for Giga Mexico, where Tesla initially planned to build their next-gen vehicle, those plans have seemingly been shelved as Giga Texas and Fremont continue to expand.

Although an official timeline for Mega Brookshire’s launch hasn’t been shared, Mega Shanghai is set to begin production soon after breaking ground in May 2024. Based on that timeline, Mega Brookshire could be operational by mid-to-late 2026.

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