A new video has captured the first view of the validation Tesla Cybertruck powered by the revolutionary dry cathode 4680 cells. This Cybertruck variant will go into production by the end of this year and is expected to cut costs significantly.
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During the company’s recent earnings call, Tesla's Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravy, confirmed that the EV maker is testing a cheaper version of the Cybertruck built using a new battery manufacturing process.
Lars stated, “We've built our first validation Cybertruck with a dry cathode process made on mass production equipment, which is a huge technical milestone, and we're super proud of that.”
Continuing, Lars said “We're on track for production launch with the dry cathode in Q4. And this will enable cell costs to be significantly below available alternatives, which was the original goal of the 4680 program.”
If you need to brush up on your dry cathode knowledge, in September 2020, Tesla showed off a new battery, the 4680 cells, incorporating several breakthroughs.
All the chemistry and manufacturing improvements were supposed to increase energy density by 54%, reduce cost per kilowatt hour by 51%, and reduce factory footprint by 69%.
You can read about all the 4680 battery breakthroughs in our previous deep dive on the issue. In our coverage a few days ago, we also covered all the broken promises of the 4680 program.
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Going back to the dry cathode part, this was one of the biggest breakthroughs slated to significantly reduce the cost of the 4680 cells.
Currently, all cylindrical cell production uses wet electrode coating. The powders that make up the individual cathode and anode are first mixed with water or other solvents. The resulting slurry is then coated onto foil, which is rolled to create the cylindrical cell.
However, before the electrode film can be wound and formed into a cell, the added solvents must first be removed. This step necessitates the use of huge drying ovens, which are tens of meters long and increase the factory footprint, energy consumption, and process time.
Tesla has solved this problem by using a dry electrode coating process. This means going directly from powder to film. This technique removes the entire step of adding and removing solvents. This allows Tesla to achieve a 10X reduction in factory footprint, a 10X reduction in energy consumption, and a massive reduction in investment.
I don’t think I have to tell you how a 10X reduction in factory footprint and energy consumption will inevitably create a much cheaper cell.
For a few quarters now, Tesla has already been using dry electrode coating on the anode front; however, a few days ago, as mentioned above, Lars Moravy revealed that Tesla had produced the first Cybertruck powered by dry electrode coated 4680 cells.
Given the cost reduction associated with this process, this was certainly an exciting announcement, and today, lo and behold, we have seen the first dry cathode validation Cybertruck testing out in the wild.
Joe Tegtemeyer, the resident Giga Texas drone operator, recently took to the skies above the factory and noticed a “nice black wrapped Cybertruck with blue logo.”
Joe made this observation in passing; however, Tesla’s head of the 4680 program, Bonne Eggleston, responded by writing, “Nice shot of the dry cathode Cybertruck.”
This marks our first look at the dry cathode 4680 Tesla Cybertruck. From the outside, it might look like just another beautifully wrapped Cybertruck, but as we have discussed, it is a one-of-a-kind special Cybertruck.
When fully ramped up, this Cybertruck will be hundreds of dollars cheaper to produce than the current Cybertrucks on the roads.
This might not seem like a big deal for a $100,000 truck; however, automotive profit, as Elon Musk likes to say, is a “game of pennies.” There are 100,000 unique parts and processes, and if you can take out a penny cost from each step, you increase your profit by thousands of dollars.
However, with the dry cathode process, Tesla is able to remove hundreds of dollars from the Cybertruck’s price by improving a single component and process.
Another significant reason for the dry cathode process is that the battery pack in electric vehicles is the most expensive component, and the single most expensive component of the battery pack is the cathode. By moving to a dry cathode process, Tesla has been able to cut costs at the biggest cost driver.
Solving the dry cathode process also allows Tesla to tackle other expensive parts of the battery, including removing cobalt and moving to a pure nickel cathode and removing graphite and moving to pure silicon on the anode. These breakthroughs and others should significantly cut the price of electric vehicles going forward.
Tesla says the dry cathode 4680 cells in the validation Cybertruck are built using mass production equipment and that the company plans to switch to this cell in Q4 of this year.
Overall, this is exciting, and we will be sure to keep you posted as Tesla continues to make progress on the 4680 cells and the Cybertruck.
Until then, make sure to visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.
So, what do you think? Are you excited to see the first dry cathode validation Cybertruck testing on the roads? Also, how much do you think a brand-new Cybertruck will cost in a few years? Let us know your thoughts in the comments by clicking the red “Add new comment” button below.
Image: Courtesy of Joe Tegtmeyer on X
For more information, check out: I Unfortunately Killed a Deer Going 50 Mph in My Tesla Cybertruck – I’m the 3rd Cybertruck Owner to Run Over a Deer With My Shiny, Silent, Stainless Steel Truck
Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla, from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.
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