Tesla’s New Battery Isn’t What They Said It Would Be
Has Tesla pulled a fast one on us?
In September 2020, Musk revealed to the market Tesla’s 4680 battery, and at face value, it looked like it would revolutionise the EV world. It promised to slash the cost per kWh by 56%, produce more power than its predecessor, come in a structural pack (increasing the crash safety of the car), be more resilient to supply chain issues, be better for the environment and even charge quicker. With such a battery, Tesla could finally offer their $25,000 EV, paving the way for the Cybertruck and second-generation Roadster to become a reality. Two years down the road, Tesla is only just starting to put 4680 packs into its cars, but recent teardowns have shown that something fishy is going on, as it seems Tesla might be pulling the wool over our eyes.
Before we get to this apparent trickery, we first need to understand how Tesla planned to make the 4680 reach such impressive specs.
You see, the 4680 has six unique and groundbreaking features that put it head and shoulders above the rest.
Firstly, its larger form factor allows each battery pack to use far fewer individual cells, as each cell has a much higher capacity. This, in turn, makes the production and assembly costs of the battery pack far cheaper. To enhance this cost…
