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Tesla on track to increase battery energy density by 20%, reveals Panasonic executive
Tesla’s 2170 battery cells will increase in energy density by 20% in five years, the head of Panasonic’s U.S. EV battery business said. Panasonic supplies Tesla with the cells for its mass-market Model 3, which was manufactured for the first time in 2017.
Additionally, Panasonic will work to commercialize a cobalt-free version of its batteries for Tesla “in two to three years.” Cobalt-free cells would increase the positive environmental impact of driving an electric vehicle. One of Tesla’s main goals is to phase away from cobalt batteries, which is a controversial but crucial element to EV batteries.
The move from Panasonic is unprecedented and marks the first time a cell manufacturer that provides Tesla with batteries has put definitive future targets that will ensure the company stays ahead of its competitors for years to come. Reuters initially reported the findings.
Panasonic initially manufactured the 2170 lithium-ion battery cells for the Model 3. The cells are comprised of a nickel-cobalt-aluminum, or NCA, cathode chemistry, which has extremely high energy density.
High energy density means that vehicles can have increased range per charge. But their small size allows for increased spaciousness and lighter cars. Battery packs in electric vehicles tend to make up a majority of the car’s weight.
However, the company’s intention to have a cobalt-free EV battery cell within the next two to three years would revolutionize the way cars can operate. Cobalt, while useful and crucial for element stability in EV batteries, is highly controversial because of mining practices. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, it is highly reported that many of the miners are children.
This creates issues for companies that wish to remain ethical, but require the element because it is highly-functional in batteries.
Tesla has long maintained that it uses a series of due diligence practices to ensure that the cobalt it obtains is mined responsibly. In the company’s 2019 Environmental Impact Report, it stated that “Tesla is committed to making working conditions in our supply chain safe and humane, ensuring that workers are treated with respect and dignity, and that manufacturing processes are environmentally responsible.”
Eliminating cobalt from batteries would also increase the cost-effectiveness of the manufacturing process and would decrease the cost of Tesla’s vehicles.
Panasonic has been working on cutting cobalt content in its batteries to under 5% in the NCA cathode. It also plans to continue improving the battery cells in stages, according to Yasuaki Takamoto, who is Panasonic’s U.S. EV battery chief.
At the Tesla Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada, Panasonic will begin converting lines at the factory to boost cell energy density.
Tesla will unveil developments in the company’s battery cells on September 22 at the company’s Battery Day.
Tesla has worked diligently with battery manufacturers to develop cells that will increase efficiency and decrease environmental impact. Additionally, the company has rolled out several updates that work to increase the efficiency of its vehicles. Most recently, the company’s Model Y received an update that deactivated the passenger side air vents when the seat is not occupied, which will make small efficiency changes.
Should add a few miles of range, more in slow traffic
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2020
Elon Musk
Tesla says texting and driving capability is coming ‘in a month or two’
“In the next month or two, we’re going to look at the safety statistics, but we’re going to allow you to text and drive, essentially.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that within the next month or two, the company will be able to open the ability for people to text and drive because its Full Self-Driving suite will be robust enough to allow drivers to take their attention away from the road.
In its current state, Tesla Full Self-Driving is a supervised driver assistance suite that requires the vehicle operator to maintain control of the vehicle and pay attention to the road surroundings.
However, the company has been aiming to release a fully autonomous version of the Full Self-Driving suite for years, teasing its future potential and aiming to release a Level 5 suite as soon as possible.
CEO Elon Musk believes the company is on the cusp of something drastic, according to what he said at yesterday’s Annual Shareholder Meeting.
One thing Musk hinted at was that the company should be able to allow those sitting in the driver’s seat of their cars to text and drive “in the next month or two,” as long as the statistics look good.
He said:
“In the next month or two, we’re going to look at the safety statistics, but we’re going to allow you to text and drive, essentially.”
The company recently transitioned to its v14 Full Self-Driving suite, which is its most robust to date, and recently expanded to Cybertruck, completing its rollout across the vehicle lineup.
Currently, Tesla is running v14.1.5, and when major improvements are made, that second number will increase, meaning v14.2 will be the next substantial improvement.
Musk said that v14.3 will be when you can “pretty much fall asleep and wake up at your destination.”
🚨🚨 Elon Musk says Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3 will be when you can “pretty much fall asleep and wake up at your destination.”
We are on v14.1 currently đź‘€ pic.twitter.com/KMkWh5Qa7T
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 6, 2025
We’ve heard a considerable amount of similar statements in the past, and Tesla owners have been conditioned to take some of these timeframes with autonomous driving with a grain of salt.
However, with the upgrades in FSD over the past few months, especially with the rollout of Robotaxi in Austin, which does not utilize anyone in the driver’s seat for local roads, it does not seem as if autonomy is that far off for Tesla.
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Tesla Semi undergoes major redesign as dedicated factory preps for deliveries
The Semi has been one of the most anticipated products in the Tesla lineup due to the disruption it could cause in the trucking industry.
Tesla put its all-electric Semi truck through quite a major redesign as its dedicated factory for the vehicle is preparing for initial deliveries to the public starting next year.
The Semi has been one of the most anticipated products in the Tesla lineup due to the disruption it could cause in the trucking industry.
It has already been in numerous pilot programs for some pretty large companies over the past couple of years, PepsiCo. being one of them, and it is moving toward first deliveries to other companies sometime in 2026.
Yesterday at the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Tesla unveiled its new Semi design, which underwent a pretty significant facelift to match the aesthetic and vibe of the other vehicles in the company’s lineup.
Additionally, Tesla announced some other improvements, including changes to efficiency, and some other changes that we did not get details on yet.
The first change was to the design of the Semi, as Tesla adopted its blade-like light bar for the Class 8 truck, similar to the one that is used on the new Model Y and the Cybertruck:
There also appear to be a handful of design changes that help with aerodynamics, as its efficiency has increased to 1.7 kWh per mile.
Tesla also said it has an increased payload capability, which will help companies to haul more goods per trip.
All of these changes come as the company’s Semi Factory, which is located on the same property as its Gigafactory in Reno, Nevada, is just finishing up. In late October, it was shown that the Semi facility is nearly complete, based on recent drone imagery from factory observer HinrichsZane on X:
The factory will be capable of producing about 50,000 Tesla Semi units annually when it is completely ramped. The company has major plans to help get the Semi in more fleets across the United States.
Other entities are also working to develop a charging corridor for electric Class 8 trucks. The State of California was awarded $102 million to develop a charging corridor that spans from Washington to Southern California.
Another corridor is being developed that spans from Southern California to Texas, and 49 applicants won $636 million from the Department of Transportation for it.
Tesla requested funding for it, but was denied.
The Semi has been a staple in several companies’ fleets over the past few years, most notably that of Frito-Lay and PepsiCo., who have reported positive experiences thus far.
Musk said last year that the Semi had “ridiculous demand.”
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Tesla Cybercab production starts Q2 2026, Elon Musk confirms
Elon Musk highlighted that the fully autonomous vehicle will be the first Tesla designed specifically for unsupervised self-driving.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that production of the company’s autonomous Cybercab will begin in April 2026, and its production targets will be quite ambitious.
Speaking at Tesla’s 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Musk highlighted that the fully autonomous vehicle will be the first Tesla designed specifically for unsupervised self-driving.
A robotaxi built for an autonomous world
Musk described the Cybercab as a clean-slate design optimized for autonomy, with no steering wheel, pedals, or side mirrors. “It’s very much optimized for the lowest cost per mile in an autonomous mode,” Musk said, adding that every Tesla produced in recent years already carries the hardware needed for full self-driving.
The Cybercab will be assembled at Giga Texas and will serve as the company’s flagship entry into the commercial robotaxi market. Musk emphasized that the project represents Tesla’s next evolutionary step in combining vehicle manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and mobility services.
One Cybercab every ten seconds
Musk reiterated that the Cybercab’s production process is more closely modeled on consumer electronics assembly than on traditional automotive manufacturing. This should pave the way for outputs that far exceed conventional automotive products.
“That production is happening right here in this factory, and we’ll be starting production in April next year. The manufacturing system is unlike any other car. The manufacturing system of the Cybercab, it’s closer to a high volume consumer electronics device than it is a car manufacturing line. So the net result is that I think we should be able to achieve, I think, ultimately, less than a 10-second cycle time, basically a unit every 10 seconds.
“What that would mean is you could get on a line that would normally produce, say, 500,000 cars a year at a one minute cycle time, Model Y. This would be maybe as much as 2 million or 3 million, maybe ultimately it’s theoretically possible to achieve a 5 million unit production line if you can get to the 5-second cycle time,” the CEO said.
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