Tesla’s goal is to equip the Model Ys that roll off the line in Berlin in 2021 with the battery design innovations announced on Battery Day. Elon Musk has hinted that on Twitter. According to the CEO, it entails ‘significant risks’ for production.
The Tesla Gigafactory in Berlin is currently still under construction, the Model Y should be produced in the second half of 2021. According to Musk, the plan is to turn the Berlin factory into a kind of testing ground for Tesla, where the new technology will be the first to reach the production stage. “Berlin will use the ‘4680 cell’ with the structural batteries,” said the CEO on Twitter. According to him, the new technology only entails ‘significant production risks’. Therefore, the factories in Fremont and Shanghai will not follow until about two years, according to Musk.
On Battery Day, Tesla showed in what ways the company wants to improve the battery pack. The cells in the battery increase in size and the battery becomes an integral part of the car. The use of materials in the battery will also be changed. Ultimately, the optimisations together should lead to an increase of 54% in range and a cost reduction per kWh of 56%. Whether Tesla succeeds in making production run without start-up problems will eventually have to be seen.
Auke Hoekstra, an expert in the field of electric transport, thinks Tesla will make a significant leap from the competition if it succeeds. “If Tesla succeeds in producing structural batteries with 4680 cells as early as next year, I feel that their lead will increase further,” he said. Techzle. “They’ll accelerate the global electric car industry by a few years.”