Based on the rumors from China, the refreshed Tesla Model 3 is already in trial production at Giga Shanghai. Although the development was done mainly in the US, the first Project Highland units will roll off the production line at Giga Shanghai. A new report from China shows that volume production will start next month, with the first cars delivered to customers in October. The announcement confirms previous rumors about the current model's production ending on August 14.
The new report also confirms that the refreshed Model 3 RWD will roll off the production line with a new battery supplied by CATL. Although this was rumored to use the lithium-manganese-iron-phosphate (LMFP) chemistry, further details show that CATL will provide its latest M3P battery cells to Tesla. In the M3P cells, the iron is enriched with a mix of materials that include magnesium, zinc, and aluminum. This gives the new cells a higher energy density than LMFP cells and a longer lifecycle.
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