The performance is completely substandard, and the energy density of the Tesla 4680 battery is 13% lower than that of the 2170 battery

IT Home reported on May 14th that although Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been advocating for the benefits that 4680 batteries can bring, the 4680 batteries produced at this stage seem far from meeting theoretical performance indicators.

@TroyTesla calculated based on the results of the Tesla Model Y endurance test released by the EPA, and found that the energy density of the 4680 battery used in a small portion of the standard endurance Model Y models in the United States is 13% lower than the 2170 battery commonly used by Tesla worldwide, with only 229Wh/kg (Texas produced 4680 batteries have a nominal capacity of 244Wh/kg, while the theoretical capacity can reach over 300Wh/kg).

As a comparison, the best battery in Ningde Times, the "Qilin Battery," was mass-produced in March this year. It took only 9 months from release to mass production, with a nominal energy density of up to 255Wh/kg, and surpassed 4680 batteries in terms of volume utilization with a crushing advantage

This may also be one of the reasons why the production time of Cybertruck has been pushed back and forth, as this pickup truck urgently needs a new generation of 4680 batteries with higher energy density. Tesla executive Drew Baglino has stated that the company plans to steadily increase production of 4680 battery cells by next year's Cyberrack production.

As far as IT Home knows, Tesla has already produced 4680 batteries in small quantities at factories in California and Texas. The company stated that as of the end of 2022, they produced this type of battery for over 1000 cars per week, which is equivalent to about one-fifth of the annual production capacity of their Texas factory.

Tesla's other supplier, Panasonic, announced on Wednesday that due to difficulties in achieving production and performance targets, it has decided to postpone the commercial mass production of 4680 batteries (currently Panasonic only operates one 4680 trial production line at its factory in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan). The latest plan is to start production from April to September 2024, later than previously scheduled (April 2023 to March 2024).

In addition, Tesla's Korean supplier LG Energy Solutions announced last month that it plans to build a new 4680 battery production line at its local factory by the end of this year, but did not disclose when the batteries will start mass production.