Cylindrical batteries are being thought-about by GM, in keeping with a report from South Korea. Tesla is ramping up its new battery cells in Nevada for way more than the Semi. And can Tesla tease extra a couple of Robovan, a Mannequin 2, or one thing fully totally different in simply over a month? This and extra, right here at Inexperienced Automobile Stories.
Tesla introduced a $3.6 billion growth of its Nevada battery “Gigafactory” that it says will produce the Semi plus the corporate’s new-format 4680 battery cells at 100 gigawatt-hours yearly—sufficient U.S.-made batteries for 1.5 million light-duty automobiles, it says. Most noteworthy, maybe, have been the manufacturing good points and the way Tesla goals to make that stage of battery capability with a smaller facility than what it at the moment must make 35 gigawatt-hours.
That output is greater than Tesla wants for the Semi, and it additionally teased the thought of a number of future Tesla merchandise underneath growth, a few of which will likely be powered by 4680 cells and could also be revealed as a part of a March 1 Investor Day. As CEO Elon Musk mentioned Wednesday—maybe referring to why the Semi was delayed—new merchandise must match the place (and when) the cells can be found.
And GM is reportedly mulling the potential for cylindrical cells for future EVs. Though the report doesn’t counsel an all-out shift to the format like what BMW signaled final 12 months, it will be a stunning flip for an organization that has mentioned it’s all-in on large-format pouch cells made by a three way partnership with LG and now bankrolled partly by the DOE.
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