Connect with us
tesla panasonic batteries tesla panasonic batteries

News

Tesla battery partner Panasonic shares insights on 4680 cell development

(Credit: Panasonic)

Published

on

Kazuo Tadanobu, the CEO of Panasonic’s energy division, recently shared some insights about the company’s upcoming 4680 batteries, which would be sold to longtime partner Tesla. Tadanobu mentioned a number of key observations about the upcoming batteries, particularly on how the 4680 cells could effectively initiate change in the transportation sector. 

Panasonic has been working on its 4680 battery for about a year and a half now, and it has not been easy. According to the executive, the development of the new batteries has “taken an immense amount of stamina.” This was because creating 4680 batteries is not as simple as enlarging existing cells. Tadanobu noted that changing the entire shape of the cell took “considerable nerve,” and that Panasonic “didn’t know how they would be received” by Tesla. 

Fortunately for Panasonic, Tesla has reportedly acknowledged the Japanese company’s work on its 4680 batteries. Tesla has reportedly deemed Panasonic’s 4680 cells viable, as they meet the level of performance that the American electric vehicle maker is seeking. This is a good sign for Panasonic’s 4680 program, considering that Tesla itself is also ramping the production of its in-house 4680 cells. 

Tesla’s home-grown 4680 cells will likely see their initial deployment in the Made-in-Texas Model Y, which will be produced at Gigafactory Texas. So far, Tesla’s 4680 production is limited to the company’s pilot line in Kato Road, close to the Fremont Factory. That’s a facility that has the potential to ramp to 10 GWh per year, but it’s still being improved today, with the company announcing last month that it had produced its 1 millionth 4680 battery cell in January. Tesla would likely need as many 4680 batteries as it could get, considering the launch of upcoming vehicles such as the Cybertruck, Semi, and new Roadster. 

Panasonic, for its part, has been sharing its battery partnership with Tesla with rivals such as LG Energy Solution and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL), both of which are extremely aggressive. Yet despite the rising competition, such as LG Energy Solution previously stating back in 2020 that it intends to be Tesla’s primary battery supplier in the future, Panasonic believes that the quality and safety of its batteries would speak for themselves.  

Advertisement

According to Tadanobu, Panasonic’s advantage in the market lies in its capability to “use craftsmanship to maintain safety even while raising the performance of a battery.” And after leading the development of the next-generation cells, the executive noted that Panasonic would work very hard to retain its spot. “We don’t want to lose,” the Panasonic executive said. 

Overall, the executive explained that Panasonic’s hard work in developing 4680 batteries for clients like Tesla is due to the company’s belief that the cells themselves have the potential to change the world of transport. If 4680 battery cells become successful, they would have a considerable impact in lowering the cost of electric vehicles. And if this happens, electric vehicle adoption would likely increase. “We see them as a new path forward,” Tadanobu said.  

*Quotes courtesy of Bloomberg, which interviewed Tadanobu in Osaka. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Advertisement

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

Advertisement
Comments

Investor's Corner

Tesla bear turns bullish for two reasons as stock continues boost

“I think from a trading perspective, it looks very interesting,” Nathan said, citing numerous signs of strength, such as holding its 200-day moving average and holding against its resistance level.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla Manufacturing

A Tesla bear is changing his tune, turning bullish for two reasons as the company’s stock has continued to get a boost over the past month.

Dan Nathan, a notorious skeptic of Tesla shares, said he is changing his tune, at least in the short term, on the company’s stock because of “technicals and sentiment,” believing the company is on track for a strong Q3, but also an investment story that will slowly veer away from its automotive business.

“I think from a trading perspective, it looks very interesting,” Nathan said, citing numerous signs of strength, such as holding its 200-day moving average and holding against its resistance level.

He also said he believes a rally for the stock could continue as it heads into the end of the quarter, especially as the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit is coming to an end at the end of the month.

With that being said, he believes the consensus for Q3 deliveries is “probably low,” as he believes Wall Street is likely underestimating what Tesla will bring to the table on October 1 or 2 when it reports numbers for the quarter.

Tesla shares are already up over five percent today, with gains exceeding nine percent over the past five trading days, and more than fourteen percent in the past month.

While some analysts are looking at the performance of other Mag 7 stocks, movement on rates from the Federal Reserve, and other broader market factors as reasoning for Tesla’s strong performance, it appears some movement could be related to the company’s recent developments instead.

Over the past week, Tesla has made some strides in its Robotaxi program, including a new license to test the platform in the State of Nevada, which we reported on.

Tesla lands regulatory green light for Robotaxi testing in new state

Additionally, the company is riding the tails of the end of the EV tax credit, as inventory, both new and used, is running extremely low, generally speaking. Many markets do not have any vehicles to purchase as of right now, making delivery by September 30 extremely difficult.

However, there has been some adjustments to the guidelines by the IRS, which can be read here:

Tesla set to win big after IRS adjusts EV tax credit rules

Tesla is trading at around $389 at 10:56 a.m. on the East Coast.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla lands regulatory green light for Robotaxi testing in new state

This will be the third state in total where Tesla is operating Robotaxi, following Austin and California.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla has landed a regulatory green light to test its Robotaxi platform in a new state, less than three months after the ride-hailing service launched in Texas.

Tesla first launched its driverless Robotaxi suite in Austin, Texas, back on June 22. Initially offering rides to a small group of people, Tesla kept things limited, but this was not to be the mentality for very long.

It continued to expand the rider population, the service area, and the vehicle fleet in Austin.

The company also launched rides in the Bay Area, but it does use a person in the driver’s seat to maintain safety. In Austin, the “Safety Monitor” is present in the passenger’s seat during local rides, and in the driver’s seat for routes that involve highway driving.

Tesla is currently testing the Robotaxi platform in other states. We reported that it was testing in Tempe, Arizona, as validation vehicles are traveling around the city in preparation for Robotaxi.

Tesla looks to make a big splash with Robotaxi in a new market

Tesla is also hoping to launch in Florida and New York, as job postings have shown the company’s intention to operate there.

However, it appears it will launch in Nevada before those states, as the company submitted its application to obtain a Testing Registry certification on September 3. It was processed by the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles Office of Business Licensing on September 10.

It will then need to self-certify for operations, essentially meaning they will need to comply with various state requirements.

This will be the third state in total where Tesla is operating Robotaxi, following Austin and California.

CEO Elon Musk has stated that he believes Robotaxi will be available to at least half of the U.S. population by the end of the year. Geographically, Tesla will need to make incredible strides over the final four months of the year to achieve this.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla is improving this critical feature in older vehicles

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla is set to improve a critical feature that has not been present in older vehicles with a new update.

Tesla vehicles feature a comprehensive suite of driver assistance features, some of which aid in driving itself, while others support the vehicle’s surroundings.

One of those features is that of Driver Visualization, and with the rollout of a new update, owners of Intel-based Tesla vehicles are receiving an upgrade that will come with a simple software update.

Tesla plans to use Unreal Engine for driver visualization with crazy upgrade

The update will provide new visualizations while Intel-based vehicles are in reverse, a feature that was not previously available, but will be with Software Update 2025.32.2.

The improvement was spotted by Not a Tesla App via TheBeatYT_evil:

Previously, vehicles Tesla built were equipped with Intel-based processors, but newer cars feature the AMD chip, which is capable of rendering these visualizations as they happen. They were capable of visualizations when driving forward, but not in reverse, which is what this change resolves.

It is a good sign for those with Intel-based vehicles, as Tesla seems to be paying attention to what those cars are not capable of and improving them.

This was an undocumented improvement associated with this particular update, so you will not find any mention of it in the release notes that Tesla distributes with each update.

Continue Reading

Trending