Tesla has reached a significant milestone by producing its 100 millionth 4680 battery cell. This milestone was achieved this past week, and takes into account 4680 battery cells made at all of Tesla’s in-house production facilities.
The announcement was made through Tesla’s official account on X, accompanied by an image of the 100,000,000th battery cell held by Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, and gives us a glimpse into Tesla’s 4680 production ramp.
Produced our 100 millionth 4680 cell across all our factories! pic.twitter.com/3P2dO35OWJ
— Tesla (@Tesla) September 14, 2024
First unveiled during Tesla’s 2020 Battery Day, the 4680 battery cell was presented as a major leap forward in battery technology. These cells are larger, offering higher energy density and improved thermal management compared to their predecessors. These advancements result in longer driving ranges and better overall performance for Tesla’s electric vehicles. But perhaps most importantly, the 4680 battery is also more cost-effective to produce, thanks to innovations in the manufacturing process, such as the dry electrode method, which Tesla has recently significant gains in perfecting.
This reduces production costs, making electric vehicles more affordable for consumers, which is a crucial step in Tesla’s mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.
The production ramp hasn’t been easy though. The company started off with a pilot production line at a facility on Kato Rd, next to the Fremont factory, before opening Giga Texas and establishing its main 4680 production line in Austin.
By June 2023 the Giga Texas cell team had produced 10 million 4680 cells, and one year later had surpassed 50 million 4680 cells. Both of those milestone were only cells built at Giga Texas.
Now three months later and Tesla has produced double that amount, 100 million, although as we noted previously, this count includes cells made both at Kato Rd and at Giga Texas. We don’t know the exact breakdown between the two facilities, but it is safe to say that Giga Texas has produced the vast majority of that number.
If we assume Giga Texas has made another 50 million 4680 cells since June 2024, that indicates an average of 495,000 4680 battery cells produced per day, enough for the company to produce around 370 Cybertrucks per day. Currently the Cybertruck is the only Tesla vehicle being built with 4680 cells.
Tesla is not producing nearly that number of Cybertrucks, so the extra cells are likely being stockpiled for when non-Foundation Series production begins, which is expected to be later this year or early next.
