With Tesla’s Battery Day scheduled to take place tomorrow, CEO Elon Musk has made a statement that will temper some expectations heading into the event.
There has been much speculation as to what will be revealed at the Fremont factory tomorrow, most of it centered around a breakthrough in battery technology that will see the company reduce its costs and extend the range of its electric vehicles (EVs). Some theories put forward even suggested Tesla’s new battery technology was already in recent builds out of Fremont, but was being software limited until its unveiling tomorrow.
Musk how now stated that whatever is revealed tomorrow is mostly going to impact production of the Cybertruck, Roadster, and Semi truck. As a result, the new technology won’t be entering mass production for another 2 years.
We intend to increase, not reduce battery cell purchases from Panasonic, LG & CATL (possibly other partners too). However, even with our cell suppliers going at maximum speed, we still foresee significant shortages in 2022 & beyond unless we also take action ourselves.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 21, 2020
The tweet doesn’t mention any of the current vehicles in Tesla’s lineup, so its unknown if any of the new technology unveiled tomorrow will reach the Model S, Model 3, Model X, or Model Y.
Musk did say the new tech won’t “reach serious high-volume production until 2022”, so there is a good chance we could see limited production with the new technology before that date.
His follow-up tweet also clarified the new battery technology will not mean a diminished relationship with their current suppliers, Panasonic, LG Chem, and CATL. It appears their projected growth with several new products coming online precipitated the automaker’s product announcements tomorrow.
If you weren’t one of the lucky shareholders to get an invite to Fremont, you can catch tomorrow’s Battery Day event on Tesla’s website at 1:30pm PST.
