Tesla's 4680 Battery Production In China - The Truth
Tesla has prioritized Giga Texas for building 4680 batteries, due to the incentives being offered by the U.S. government. Tesla will still be building some 4680 batteries at Giga Berlin, but the priority is going to be the U.S.
Giga Berlin will build 4680 batteries and in a pilot type of process. Some of those processes are going to be moved to Giga Texas though. So, Giga Berlin will ramp up 4680 batteries and continue production. Not all production will be shipped to the U.S.
The Inflation Reduction Act has caused Giga Texas to be the top priority. Austin, Texas takes precedence. There are specific parts of the 4680 battery process that are being moved to Giga Texas. There won't be any dismantling of system in Giga Berlin for the 4680 batteries.
There is an email from Tesla that is shared from Electrified and it goes on to say:
We Will Do the Following in Berlin:
Electrode commissioning and production ramp will continue at full speed and we will ship the electrode to Texas to be completed into cells. Also installation of additional tabless and assembly equipment will be paused. Created equipment will be redirected to Texas.
4680 Batteries Priority Moved
There are electrodes being made at Giga Berlin, but they'll be shipped to Giga Texas. There is installation of the tabless and assembly equipment. There is some created equipment at Giga Berlin that will be shipped to Giga Texas.
This isn't a negative for Giga Berlin at all. Their Model Y production will continue even with the 4680 batteries being re-prioritized. Tesla just needs to take advantage of a massive opportunity in the U.S. market and that is something they should do.
Sandy Munro did a tear down of Tesla's 4680 batteries and found quite a number of interesting things. The disassembly was done with a pipe cutter through the thick piece of steel covering the battery. The assembly was nothing short of engineering genius rivaling that of the Giga Press.
We now know that Tesla has shifted the priority of its 4680 batteries to Giga Texas. Do you think this was the right thing to do? Should Tesla take advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act?
Fore more information, see this video from Electrified:
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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.