Earlier this year Elon Musk said Tesla plans to only use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells in their ‘Standard Range’ line of vehicles. One of the main reasons cited by Musk was because LFP batteries are cobalt-free and have an iron cathode, making them cheaper than their lithium-ion counterparts that have a nickel cathode.
So far Tesla has only been using LFP cells in vehicles made at Giga Shanghai. It was first introduced in the Standard Range (SR) Model 3 last year and more recently in the SR Model Y.
We have yet to see any LFP batteries in vehicles being made at Tesla’s Fremont factory in California, but that may soon change.
According to Tesla enthusiast and delivery estimator @TroyTeslike, Fremont will begin placing the more cost-effective batteries in the SR+ Model 3 on October 1, 2021.
The rumor is,
• Fremont will start using LFP cells from China for Standard Range Model 3/Y from Oct 1st, 2021 and
• Model Y production in Texas/Berlin will start with 2170 cells instead of 4680.— Troy Teslike (@TroyTeslike) August 21, 2021
In his tweet Troy also mentions they will be used in the Model Y, but Fremont no longer manufactures the SR Model Y after it was discontinued in North America last year.
Related: Tesla China recommends charging new LFP battery to 100%
Another rumour Troy includes in his tweet is that Giga Texas and Giga Berlin will begin production of the Model Y with the current 2170 cells, and not Tesla’s new 4680 cells. This doesn’t come as much surprise as Musk mentioned this possibility during the company’s Q2 2021 earnings call, saying the company has a contingency plan to use the current generation cells if the 4680 cells aren’t ready in time.
