New reports indicate that Tesla has finally solved the dry electrode coating process, paving the way for much cheaper 4680 cells. The EV maker is focusing on scaling up production, with plans to bring the improved 4680 cells to market by the end of the year.
Not long ago, a report from China indicated that Tesla was contemplating killing its battery business. When Elon Musk went on a firing spree in May, the battery team seemed to be heading for the chopper board, following the Supercharger team into nothingness. This actually made sense, considering that Tesla has been struggling for five years to crack the battery electrode process that would make the 4680-cell prophecy come true.
But first, let's refresh our memory with Tesla's in-house battery production. Elon Musk introduced the 4680 cells to the public during the 2020 Battery Day. However, the plans to start internal development of these cells were laid out much earlier, leading to Tesla buying Maxwell in 2019. Maxwell was working on a revolutionary dry electrode coating process for its supercapacitor production. Tesla saw the potential of the technology for its battery manufacturing, making the move on Maxwell. In 2021, Tesla sold Maxwell's supercapacitor business, although it kept the dry battery electrode (DBE) tech for itself.
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