Tesla just hit a massive battery milestone, producing 100 million 4680 cells—enough to power thousands of Cybertrucks.
Tesla has reached a major milestone in its battery production journey, announcing the production of its 100 millionth 4680 battery cell. This comes just three months after the company hit the 50 million mark, showcasing Tesla’s rapid increase in cell production. The news was shared on Tesla’s X, with a photo of its Optimus Gen 2 humanoid robot holding the 100 millionth cell, signaling the company’s commitment to technological advancements.
The 4680 battery cell, introduced at Tesla’s Battery Day in 2020, represents a big leap in Tesla’s efforts to produce more efficient and powerful batteries. Although the production ramp for the 4680 cell has faced challenges, this milestone demonstrates significant progress. Tesla has produced an impressive 495,000 cells per day over the last three months, translating to enough battery cells to power around 368 Cybertrucks daily. At this rate, Tesla could manufacture 33,514 Cybertrucks per quarter, or 134,280 per year.
Tesla has been working hard to ramp up production of the Cybertruck at its Giga Texas factory. However, despite the rapid production of 4680 cells, the company is reportedly still just shy of producing 2,000 Cybertrucks per week. This suggests that the supply of battery cells may no longer be the limiting factor in production. It’s possible that Tesla is stockpiling 4680 cells in preparation for a surge in Cybertruck production once the Foundation Series comes to an end.
The 4680 battery cell is a game changer for Tesla, offering improvements in energy capacity, cost efficiency, and battery longevity. Each cell is designed to be more efficient than previous models, but Tesla still has some ground to cover before realizing its full potential. Elon Musk has set a goal for the 4680 team to achieve significant improvements in the battery’s performance by the end of this year, including hitting cost parity with other automakers.
Tesla’s progress with the 4680 battery is particularly noteworthy given the challenges it faced during the early stages of development. There were doubts about whether Tesla could ramp up production at the scale it envisioned, and some critics even questioned whether the company would abandon the project altogether. However, Tesla has proven the doubters wrong with this latest achievement.
Additionally, reports earlier this year from China suggested that Tesla is getting ready to begin mass production of the complete version of the 4680 cell, which includes dry positive and negative electrodes. This version is expected to bring further improvements in battery performance and cost efficiency, potentially setting Tesla up to meet its ambitious goals for 2024 and beyond.
While there’s still work to be done to fully unlock the potential of the 4680 cell, the company is clearly making headway. This milestone indicates that Tesla is on the right track to scale up its battery production to meet growing demand for its vehicles, particularly the highly anticipated Cybertruck. With production ramping up and more innovations on the horizon, Tesla’s battery program is proving to be a key pillar in the company’s future growth.
