A Tesla Model Y 4680 Battery Range Upgrade

A Tesla Model Y 4680 Battery Range Upgrade

The 4680 batteries in a Giga Texas Model Y have about 828 cells. There is also a chance that Tesla is limiting the range and performance of these batteries and the reason may be necessary.

Tesla is using software upgrades to improve their vehicles by having extra batteries and power that could give more performance and range than the car is actually capable of having. If you knew you could remedy that with a $5,000 software upgrade, it might not bother you as much.

Software upgrades to unlock more of the power of a vehicle are much better than someone trading in a car and buying another new one. There is just too much demand for vehicles and it's much better than someone keep their car and that next car go to someone else.

There is some amazing battery chemistry in the 4680 battery cells. It's the anode with the additional silicone added along with the graphite. We don't have a break down of how much silicon is being used in the anode. This is where the "magic" is happening in the battery.

Tesla's Progress

Tesla has been working on the 4680 batteries for about 3 years and have been working on it very hard. It will be very important to have a strong energy density for the Cybertruck and the Tesla semi.

The battery volumes for the Model Y made in Giga Texas is about 110 liters against the Model Y long range built in Fremont, at 107 liters. That's a 2.8% more volume difference in the jelly roll - the actual can of the 4680 cell. This means more space and a higher kWh.

There are also improvements in the chemistry being worked on and that will take time. The 4680 battery pack could be closer to 85 kWh and perhaps the total usable battery is 93 kWh. This is a pretty good sized battery and the actual range being used is about 15 kWh less than what the size is.

If the Model Y long range has a 75 kWh battery and 330 miles of range, and is 143 lbs. heavier than the Giga Texas Model Y with a potential 85-93 kWh battery and 279 miles of range, how much battery is not being used? The kind of range this vehicle could have is 400 miles of range. Would you pay $10,000 for that extra range? And you could decide at any time of vehicle ownership...

Do you think Tesla is not utilizing all of the 4680 battery in their cars? Will there be a software upgrade to get more range out of the battery?

For more information, see this video by Tesla Economist:

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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, Tesla Economist, Screenshot