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Tesla battery supplier Panasonic wants cobalt-free cells in 2-3 years

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Tesla battery supplier Panasonic wants to do away with cobalt in its electric vehicle battery cells within two to three years, which would decrease cost and increase the company’s ability to keep up with the automaker’s lofty plans for a global expansion.

Over the past few years, Tesla has really dialed in a focus on electric vehicle battery production and sourcing materials for its cells in mass amounts. The automaker has also focused on battery longevity, which cobalt assists in as it secures each battery’s stability and life cycle. However, cobalt is an extremely controversial mineral. It is usually mined in the Republic of Congo, where child labor is used, and many companies have attempted to get rid of cobalt in their cells altogether. Panasonic is one of those companies, Nikkei Asia reported.

Shawn Watanabe, Head of Energy Technology and Manufacturing at Panasonic of Japan, detailed his company’s plan to out cobalt from its cells during a virtual session for the Consumer Electronics Show, which is the world’s largest consumer electronics and tech expo, on Wednesday. “Two or three years from now, we will be able to introduce a cobalt-free high energy-density cell,” he said.

Getting rid of cobalt in cells would not only reduce the cost of cells, but the price of electric vehicles would decrease as well. The battery pack of an EV is the most expensive part of the car and accounts for between 30 and 40% of the vehicle. Panasonic, who has been in partnership with Tesla since 2014 and recently signed a new battery supply deal with the Elon Musk-headed company, assists in the operation of the Tesla Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada.

Ultimately, the cost of batteries is what really drives the price of EVs up. Tesla has worked tirelessly to figure out EV cell supply constraints and has started manufacturing its own 4680 cell in-house. The way to reduce costs is to mass-produce cells, which requires sizeable material contracts, and Tesla is focusing in on nickel for the future, and not cobalt.

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Panasonic President shares insights on Tesla’s 4680 battery cell production plans

“I’d just like to re-emphasize, any mining companies out there, please mine more nickel,” Musk said during the company’s Q2 2020 Earnings Call. “Tesla will give you a giant contract for a long period of time if you mine nickel efficiently and in an environmentally sensitive way.”

Panasonic is taking the same strategy, according to Celin Mikolajczak, VP of Battery Technology for Panasonic North America. “Reducing cobalt makes it harder for us to manufacture, but ultimately does reduce the negative environmental impacts of batteries and reduce the cost.”

Panasonic is also attempting to cut costs by recycling its batteries and materials. It recently paired up with J.B. Straubel, a Tesla founder who started Redwood Materials. “The materials we use are very valuable. We’ve always recycled. It’s a steady stream of raw material, and that could become an appreciable part of our supply chain,” Mikolajczak said.

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla Giga Berlin seems to be using FSD Unsupervised to move Model Y units

Tesla may be doing something quite special in the Giga Berlin-Brandenburg complex.

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Tesla FSD Unsupervised Giga Texas

Tesla may be doing something quite special in the Giga Berlin-Brandenburg complex. Based on observations from a recent drone flyover of the site, it appears that Tesla may also be using FSD Unsupervised to move freshly produced Model Y vehicles to the factory’s staging area.

New Drone Footage

Recent footage of the Giga Berlin complex from longtime Tesla watcher Tobias Lindh included several interesting updates around the Model Y factory. These include a new warehouse that is currently being built, as well as a tunnel is currently being constructed. More interestingly, the drone operator observed that some cars now seem to be moving to Giga Berlin’s distribution area without human drivers.

If the drone operator’s observations prove accurate, it would be quite an impressive accomplishment for Tesla. FSD Unsupervised, after all, has only been confirmed in vehicles that are produced at the Fremont Factory and Gigafactory Texas.

Potential Next Steps

If Giga Berlin is now using FSD Unsupervised to transport some Model Y units from the factory building to the site’s staging area, it might only be a matter of time before Tesla also implements a similar system for Gigafactory Shanghai. The Shanghai-based Tesla plant, after all, is the company’s largest factory by volume, and it also serves as a primary vehicle export hub. FSD Unsupervised could then pave the way for Giga Shanghai to operate in an even more optimal manner. 

FSD Unsupervised is the cornerstone of Tesla’s robotaxi business, which is expected to start rolling out in Austin, Texas, next month. Previous reports have suggested that Tesla is pushing hard in its preparations to roll out its robotaxi service this June. Tesla has reportedly even worked and trained with Austin’s first responders from the fire and police departments as part of its robotaxi service preparations.

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Check out a recent flyover of the Tesla Giga Berlin complex in the video below.

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Tesla welcomes Chipotle President Jack Hartung to its Board of Directors

Tesla announced the addition of its new director in a post on social media platform X.

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Credit: @ArthurFromX/X

Tesla has welcomed Chipotle president Jack Hartung to its Board of Directors. Hartung will officially start his tenure at the electric vehicle maker on June 1, 2025.

Tesla announced the addition of its new director in a post on social media platform X.

Jack Hartung’s Role

With Hartung’s addition, the Tesla Board will now have nine members. It’s been a while since the company added a new director. Prior to Hartung, the last addition to the Tesla Board was Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia back in 2022. As noted in a Reuters report, Hartung will serve on the Tesla Board’s audit committee. He will also retire from his position as president and chief strategy officer at Chipotle, and transition into a senior advisor’s role at the restaurant chain, next month.

Hartung has had a long career in the Mexican grill, joining Chipotle in 2002. He held several positions in the company, most recently serving as Chipotle’s President and Chief Strategy Officer. Tesla highlighted Hartung’s accomplishments in a post on its official account on X.

“Over the past 20+ years under Jack’s financial leadership, Chipotle has seen significant growth with over 3,700 restaurants today across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Jack was named ‘CFO of the Year’ by Orange County Business Journal and Best CFO in the restaurant category by Institutional Investor,” Tesla wrote in its post on X.

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Tesla Board and Musk

Tesla is a controversial company with a controversial CEO, so it is no surprise that the Board of Directors tend to get flak as well. Two weeks ago, for example, Tesla Board Chair Robyn Denholm slammed The Wall Street Journal for publishing an article alleging that company directors had considered a search for a potential successor to Elon Musk. Denholm herself has also been criticized for offloading her TSLA shares.

More recently, news emerged suggesting that the Tesla Board of Directors had formed a special committee aimed at exploring a new pay package for CEO Elon Musk. The committee is reportedly comprised of Tesla board Chair Robyn Denholm and independent director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, and they would be exploring alternative compensation methods for Musk’s contributions to the company.

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Tesla posts FSD demonstrations in Australia and France

Tesla is expected to roll out a robotaxi service that uses FSD Unsupervised in Austin, Texas sometime next month.

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Credit: Tesla Europe & Middle East/X

Tesla definitely seems determined to prove that its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system is capable of operating safely anywhere. This was highlighted by the company in a couple of videos posted on social media platform X, which showed the self-driving system in action in Australia and France.

Tesla is expected to roll out a robotaxi service that uses FSD Unsupervised in Austin, Texas sometime next month.

New FSD Unsupervised Demonstrations

To start off Tesla’s recent demonstrations, the Tesla AI Team posted a video of FSD Supervised being tested in Melbourne, Australia. The video was nearly two minutes long, and it featured FSD navigating the city’s busy inner streets. FSD handled the drive without any issues, even performing Australia’s infamous hook turn at one time. The demonstration was received warmly by the EV community, especially since FSD accomplished all this while operating an RHD vehicle. 

Another FSD demonstration, this time posted by the official Tesla Europe & Middle East X account, featured the Supervised self-driving system navigating France’s complicated Arc de Triomphe. The area is challenging, considering that it’s one of the largest roundabouts in the country. FSD Supervised, however, expertly handled the roundabout, pausing for cars as needed and maintaining a safe distance from other vehicles.

Tesla did place a disclaimer on its recent test videos, stating that “FSD (Supervised) engineering test drive in a prototype vehicle driven by a safety driver. For demonstration purposes only. FSD (Supervised) is a hands-on feature that requires driver control of the vehicle and attention on the road at all times. Future activation and use subject to development and regulatory approval.”

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FSD Unsupervised

Tesla is not yet rolling out FSD Unsupervised to consumer vehicles. The company, however, has been using the system to transport cars from the Fremont Factory and Giga Texas’ production lines to their respective staging areas. In Giga Texas, freshly produced Model Y units drive completely driverless for 1.4 miles before reaching its staging lot. The Cybertrucks, on the other hand, navigate a Boring Company tunnel on their way to their staging area.

Tesla is planning on releasing a dedicated robotaxi service using Model Y vehicles equipped with FSD Unsupervised in Austin, Texas this June. Previous reports also suggest that Tesla is hard at work preparing for the rollout of its robotaxi service, with the company reportedly testing 300 vehicles around Austin over the past months. Tesla has reportedly also conducted safety tests and training sessions with Austin’s first responders from the fire department and police as part of its robotaxi service preparations.

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