Technology
Tesla is highly vertically integrated and develops many components in-house, such as batteries, motors, and software.[140]
Batteries
Tesla vehicle chassis used in Model S and X, with the battery visible
Comparison of Tesla's three cylindrical battery cell form factors
As of 2023, Tesla uses four different battery cell form factors: 18650, 2170, 4680, and prismatic.[147][148][149]
Tesla purchases these batteries from three suppliers, CATL, LG Energy Solution, and Panasonic, the latter of which has co-located some of its battery production inside Tesla's Gigafactory Nevada. Tesla is also currently building out the capacity to produce its own batteries.
Tesla batteries sit under the vehicle floor to save interior space. Tesla uses a multi-part aluminum and titanium protection system to protect the battery from road debris and/or vehicle crashes.[150]
Business analysis company BloombergNEF estimated Tesla's battery pack cost in 2021 at $112 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), versus an industry average of $132 per kWh.[151]
18650
Tesla was the first automaker to use cylindrical, lithium-ion battery cells. When it built the first generation Roadster, it used off-the-shelf 18650-type (18 mm diameter, 65 mm height) cylindrical batteries that were already used for other consumer electronics. The cells provided an engineering challenge because each has a relatively low capacity, so thousands needed to be bundled together in a battery pack. Electrical and thermal management also proved to be a challenge, requiring liquid cooling and an intumescent fire prevention chemical.[152] However, the decision proved to be pragmatic because there was already a mature manufacturing process that could produce a high volume of the cells at a consistent quality. Although the 18650-type cells are the oldest technology, they are used in the Model S and X vehicles. Tesla sources these batteries with a nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA) cathode chemistry from Panasonic's factories in Japan.[153]
2170
The next battery type to be used was 2170-type (21 mm diameter, 70 mm height) cylindrical cell. The larger size was optimized for electric cars, allowing for a higher capacity per cell and a lower number of cells per battery pack. The 2170 was introduced for the Model 3 and Y vehicles.[153]
For vehicles built at the Tesla Fremont Factory, the company sources 2170-type batteries with a nickel-cobalt-aluminum cathode chemistry from Panasonic's production line at Gigafactory Nevada.[154] In January 2021, Panasonic had the capacity to produce 39 GWh per year of battery cells there.[155] Tesla Energy also uses 2170 cells in its Powerwall home energy storage product.
For vehicles made at Gigafactory Shanghai and Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg batteries with a nickel-cobalt-manganese (NMC) cathode chemistry are sourced from LG Energy Solution's factories in China.[153]
4680
Tesla's latest cylindrical cell design is the 4680-type (46 mm diameter, 80 mm height) introduced in 2021. The battery was developed in-house by Tesla and is physically 5-times bigger than the 2170-type, again allowing for a higher capacity per cell and a lower number of cells per battery pack.[156][157] Currently, Tesla builds the 4680 cells itself and has not disclosed the cathode chemistry. The company has already opened production lines in Fremont, California, and plans to open lines inside Gigafactory Nevada and Gigafactory Texas. The 4680 cells are used in the Model Y and Cybertruck built at Gigafactory Texas.[153]
Prismatic
Tesla also uses prismatic (rectangular) cells in many entry-level Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.[153] The prismatic cells are a lithium iron phosphate battery (LFP or LiFePO
4) which is a less energy-dense type, but do not contain any nickel or cobalt, which makes it less expensive to produce.[158] Tesla sources these batteries from CATL's factories in China. As of April 2022, nearly half of Tesla's vehicle production used prismatic cells.[159] Tesla Energy also uses prismatic cells in its Megapack grid-scale energy storage product.[160]
Research
Tesla invests in lithium-ion battery research. In 2016, the company established a 5-year battery research and development partnership at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, with lead researcher Jeff Dahn.[161][162][163][164] Tesla acquired Maxwell Technologies for over $200 million[165] – and sold in 2021.[166] It also acquired Hibar Systems.[167][168] Tesla purchased several battery manufacturing patent applications from Springpower International, a small Canadian battery company.[169][170]
