Tesla Disrupted Itself With 4680 Battery Cells

Tesla is a once in a generation type of company. The business is continually disrupting itself and the latest disruption is Tesla's own 4680 battery cells. These batteries are a step up from Tesla's other cell types. Let's look at why this is a disruption and very good.

Tesla disrupted itself with 4680 battery Cells

Tesla has created yet another disruption within itself. This time, it is the 4680 battery cells. These are battery cells that are bigger than Tesla's 2170 batteries and will provide more efficiency in Tesla vehicles. It will make for lighter Tesla vehicles, able to run on less of a battery for the same range. Or, they will be able to be used to make higher performance vehicles, like a high performance Model Y (possibly a Model Y Plaid) and the upcoming Cybertruck and Semi.

This is a disruption within Tesla and that distinction is important. Many companies, once established, stop innovating and grow at a much slower pace. This is not the case with Tesla. They are considered a mega cap company, and yet, they are growing at over 60% per year. The 4680 batteries are going to help them scale production and have higher margins on their vehicles, along with creating higher performance vehicles.

Could this mean that we'll see a long range Model Y built out of the Fremont, CA factory, and a new, high end performance Model Y built out of Giga Texas? We don't know yet, but most likely, by the end of March, we'll see the first deliveries from Giga Texas and be able to know what kinds of vehicles those are.

More Details and Speculation about the 4680 Battery Cells

There's a lot of speculation on Twitter about the 4680 battery cells. How long are they going to last - will they be the million mile battery talked about on battery day? Tesla is already releasing the LFP battery with RWD Model 3 (formerly known as the standard range version), and those batteries have a lot more recharges in them than the previous version.

I'm very interested to see the longevity of the 4680 battery cells, and how much range and performance they will give a vehicle, along with how fast they charge. A user (silentWarrior) on Twitter wrote:

"I'm guessing because the new Battery pack is 'structural' means the chassis will require less joints and therefore more rigid which makes the car handle better. Better handling usually means dynamically 'more fun.'"

I think this user is referring to the packaging of the structural pack as the chassis of the car - that is, the undercarriage of the car. With this being the entire structural battery pack, that would mean less joints for the chassis. I think this will save money and make the car handle better.

Tesla has put a lot of work into the 4680 batteries. Unfortunately, Giga Berlin will not start with the 4680 batteries. There was a stipulation by the EU (European Union) that for Tesla to receive funding, they would need to produce the 4680 batteries in Giga Berlin first. Tesla rejected that and is starting in Giga Texas.

I'm looking forward to seeing the specs of the vehicles with the 4680 cells, more specially, the Model Y, and the Cybertruck!

Was the 4680 battery a disruption within Tesla? Will other companies use the 4680 batteries?

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Jeremy Johnson is a Tesla investor and supporter. He first invested in Tesla in 2017 after years of following Elon Musk and admiring his work ethic and intelligence. Since then, he's become a Tesla bull, covering anything about Tesla he can find, while also dabbling in other electric vehicle companies. Jeremy covers Tesla developments at Torque News. You can follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn to stay in touch and follow his Tesla news coverage on Torque News.

Image Credit, Gali, From Twitter