Will 4680 Battery Cell Delays Impact Tesla Cybertruck Production?
Earlier this month, Tesla battery cell supplier Panasonic announced that it would delay the commercial production schedule of 4680 cells. Some wonder if the news could affect production of the Tesla Cybertruck, which is set to begin deliveries later this year.
According to Panasonic’s previous guidance, the company planned to begin production of its 4680 cells between April 2023 and March 2024. However, the electronics manufacturing giant now plans to start 4680 cell production between April 2024 and September 2024 (via Reuters).
Panasonic has decided to delay production to enhance 4680 cell performance even further. The company has been working on producing 4680 battery cells for years in collaboration with Tesla, but the two have yet to do so at high volumes.
Tesla introduced the new 4680 form-factor cells at its Battery Day event in 2020. The automaker set up a pilot production facility for the cells at its Fremont factory, codenamed Roadrunner at the time.
Shortly after Battery Day, both Panasonic and Tesla announced plans to set up a joint pilot production line at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada. However, Tesla hasn’t commented on how many cells this pilot plant is actually producing.
Panasonic has another pilot production line for 4680 cells at its factory in Wakayama, Japan. Tesla also started a production line for the cells at its Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, in 2021. Since then, the automaker has constantly upgraded the facility to speed up cell output.
According to Tesla’s latest report on 4680 cells, the electric carmaker was producing 868,000 units of these cells per week. This would barely be enough to make 1,000 Model Y battery packs, and Giga Texas alone recently reached a weekly production rate of 5,000 Model Ys.