https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8nIJisRIws
Hours ago Tesla Giga Texas displayed Tesla's new structural battery pack (for the 4680 battery cells for Model Y) and it's going viral.
https://insideevs.com/news/578801/tesla-structural-pack-4680-cells-unveiled-cyber-rodeo/
It appears Tesla kept its Battery Day promise, though we'll have to wait and see how the ramp-up goes.
While Tesla CEO Elon Musk did reveal a few juicy bits of information at Tesla's Cyber Rodeo delivery party last evening, there wasn't a whole lot of "new material," and future plans, details, and dates were lacking. That said, tweets and videos from fans, owners, and investors attending the event delivered more compelling information.
For example, Tesla had several unique displays prepared for the event, including one that revealed production-level 4680 battery cells manufactured at Giga Texas. Musk noted in his speech that Tesla's Austin Gigafactory is ready to roll with the production of the 4680 cells, and vehicle production at the factory is all-inclusive. Essentially, the plant is designed to provide every facet of the manufacturing process under one roof.
The text on the hanging metal plaque above reads:
“Made at Gigafactory Texas, our new tabless 4680 cell lowers the cost per kilowatt hour. We have everything we need under one roof to produce and assemble the first high-volume structural battery pack, using our fully integrated process. The structural pack greatly reduces the number of parts used in both the battery pack and the car, allowing our pack manufacturing line to be less than half the size of previous factories."
Tesla promised the new 4680 battery cells and structural pack back at its Battery Day event in September 2020. However, at the time, Elon Musk made it clear that the technology wasn't coming any time soon.
Some skeptics believe the technology isn't monumental, and that Tesla may struggle to ramp it up. With the supply chain situations worsening across the globe, and automakers struggling to obtain battery materials, it will be highly encouraging if Tesla can pull all of this off in a timely manner.
At this point, it appears Tesla has delivered on its Battery Day promises, and perhaps even ahead of schedule, but we have no idea how it's all going to play out. Tesla must now prove it can ramp up production on the cells and packs, and get them into production Model Y vehicles. The automaker did reveal a Model Y Standard Range at Giga Texas that was produced with the 4680s and new pack, though it's not yet delivering such a vehicle.
To be clear, there's currently no indication or proof that Tesla is producing Model Y crossovers with the new battery tech, at least not for customers. Some may have been delivered at the event, but details are scarce, and we have no absolute proof that it happened. Hopefully, more details will become clear in the near future.
