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

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

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!

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
The 4680 cell - 46mm wide, 80mm tall
Not a Tesla App

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.

Apple Maps to Add Improved Tesla NACS Support

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

Apple previously committed to offering real-time availability of EV chargers in Apple Maps, initially supporting certain chargers like ChargePoint. Users can now view how many chargers are actively being used, and this functionality is expected to expand to Tesla Superchargers in the future.

Apple is now expanding support for NACS chargers. Aaron from X spotted this update in the latest iOS 18.4 Beta.

NACS Plugs

While Apple Maps already displays Tesla Superchargers and detailed information, such as the power of each site and the number of stalls available, it doesn’t provide real-time stall availability yet.

While Tesla has the largest number of NACS charging stations, some other brands also use NACS connectors, and this is expected to increase now that NACS is the official charging connector in North America.

While Apple is planning to add real-time availability for Superchargers in the future, it will now warn users if they’re navigating to a NACS station if their vehicle doesn’t have the correct port. Apple Maps already shows which connectors a station offers, and they received added support for Apple Maps on the web.

A code snippet in iOS 18.4 reveals that Apple Maps will display a banner and sound a voice alert while using Apple Maps on a phone or in Car Play.

The banner and alert will mention that “You need to use a charging adapter on this route,” or more specifically, “Tesla NACS Adapter Required.”

Hopefully, Apple will also be able to pull data from Tesla’s API, noting which sites have Magic Docks - and therefore won’t need an adapter.

Not a Tesla App

Live Supercharger Availability

A key factor in making this experience seamless is adding support for live charger availability. While Apple currently provides real-time charging information for some non-Tesla stations, it has yet to include the most widespread and reliable network—Tesla’s Supercharger network.

When Apple integrates Tesla’s API and adds real-time Supercharger availability, Apple Maps could be a good alternative to finding a nearby charging station as it’ll also provide real-time third-party charger availability.

These changes would bring Apple’s navigation experience closer to Tesla’s built-in trip planner, which dynamically adjusts routes based on station occupancy and estimated arrival state of charge.

Tesla Sentry Mode May Soon Honk When It Detects Vandalism

By Karan Singh
ashschwin

Vehicle vandalism—especially the misguided vandalism of privately owned Teslas has been on the rise. While some owners are fortunate enough to catch perpetrators with Sentry Mode or security cameras, many vandals escape without consequence, often without even triggering the vehicle’s alarm.

Recently, Tesla vandalism has escalated, including the arson of a Tesla showroom in France and the destruction of a Supercharger site in the U.S. Beyond attacks on the company itself, Tesla owners are also being targeted, regardless of any connection to the controversies surrounding the brand.

Although Sentry Mode is effective for capturing incidents after the fact, it does little to prevent them in the moment. While useful for insurance claims and law enforcement, it doesn’t actively deter criminal activity. A simple honk or alarm trigger could go a long way in discouraging bad actors before they cause damage.

Littleton Fire Department

Honking at Vandalism

Now, that may all come to an end. In response to a post requesting Tesla’s engineers to find a way to protect vehicles from getting keyed, Elon Musk responded that your Tesla could potentially honk at people when it detects activity like your vehicle being keyed or spray-painted.

Musk suggested the idea in response to a video on X showing a Tesla being keyed. While this type of vandalism isn’t new, incidents have been increasing. Given Tesla’s ability to detect lane markings and surrounding objects, it could just as easily recognize destructive behavior like keying. A simple honk can go a long way in deterring this kind of behavior.

It’s a small change but increasingly necessary in a world where tensions are rising and Tesla owners are being targeted. This addition would shift Sentry Mode from a mostly reactive feature to a proactive one, helping to reduce vehicle damage.

Sentry Mode has continued to improve throughout the years. In the Christmas update, Tesla added the ability to view Sentry Mode videos directly on your phone. Although this is limited to iPhones right now, we expect this to open up to Android devices in the future. We’re also expecting Sentry Mode efficiency changes in an upcoming update.

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