Tesla’s 4680 cells production is no longer a bottleneck

Tesla says it has several weeks’ worth of finished 4680 cells in stock, the manufacturer said in a call following the release of its annual report. “To date, 4680 production is ahead of the ramp, with weeks of finished cells in inventory. And the goal is to keep it that way,” X/Twitter user SawyerMerrit quotes from the call.

Tesla currently operates one production line and one assembly line for the cells. According to SawyerMerritt, Tesla will add four more lines in the third quarter of 2024. Tesla also intends to increase orders for 4680 cells from its suppliers. However, the carmaker did not give any figures.

Nevada expansion has begun

Tesla also confirmed that the expansion of the plant in Nevada has begun. As reported, two new production facilities will be built as part of the expansion: One for battery cells of the 4680 format with a capacity of 100 gigawatt hours per year and another for series production of the Tesla Semi electric truck.

The Semi also uses the 4680 round cells. Initially, Tesla only produced this type of cell on a pilot line in Fremont before production of the second 4680 generation kicked off in Texas, significantly increasing capacity. The low availability of 4680 cells for a long time was one of the reasons for the delays of the Semi. If, according to Tesla, there are now enough cells in stock, it could be good news for the electric truck.

Elon Musk also confirmed the production schedule for the new Tesla compact model that was leaked shortly beforehand in a Reuters report. “Our current schedule says that we will start production towards the end of 2025, sometime in the second half,” Musk explained. However, it will not be easy to speed up production on the new and “revolutionary” assembly line, and the schedule is not set in stone. According to Reuters, the compact crossover model is being developed under the project name “Redwood.”

According to SawyerMerritt, Tesla is waiting to start construction on the Giga Mexico until it has tested the design of the next-generation production line at Giga Texas. When Tesla announced the factory in Nueva Leon in March 2023 at that year’s Investors Day, the “Next Generation Vehicles” were to be built at 50 per cent lower costs and with a 40 per cent smaller factory footprint. The carmaker wants to achieve this with the new vehicle platform and a production line tailored to it.

twitter.com, twitter.com (both 4680), twitter.com (Nevada), insideevs.com (Redwood schedule)