As Tesla Battery Day approaches, Elon Musk hints at major capacity increases

CNET ^ | Aug. 25, 2020 8:29 a.m. PT | Sean Szymkowski

[Red Badger]

Something's stirring over at Tesla. The company's highly anticipated Battery Day is just on the horizon, and ahead of the event, CEO Elon Musk shared some insight into energy density via Twitter.

Replying to a Twitter thread surrounding the possibility of an electric airplane, Musk said batteries with 400 watt hours per kilogram are highly likely in the next three to four years. And not just one-off units, either, but mass produced batteries with long lifecycles, too.

This type of energy density could provide 50% more energy density compared to today's batteries, noting today's batteries used in the Tesla Model 3 feature an energy density of about 260 Wh/kg. The more energy packed into a battery, the longer the driving range for a vehicle.

In conjunction with Musk's comments, Tesla itself released a teaser showing a peculiar pattern with numerous dots. Reuters reported the pattern could hint at silicon nanowire anode, which if realized, could help Tesla achieve more energy dense batteries with longer usable lives. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This year's been rife with speculation surrounding Tesla battery news. From Panasonic's pledge to boost energy density in the years to come, to China's CATL's work with Tesla on a "million-mile" battery, there's been no short supply of energy-related news. Tesla also applied to become a utility provider in the UK earlier this year, just as we learned more about the company's Autobidder system to manage their energy production and sell electricity back to the grid.

We've got less than a month to go before Battery Day kicks off on Sept. 22, and we'll surely hear more before then. Musk likes to share on Twitter. A lot.

[PA Engineer]

Thanks for the link. I'm impressed. It is as if we are going full circle with a radically improved Edison cell hybrid. The architecture of the cell, dry production and anode cathode materials are key take aways. I was unable to watch the entire presentation, however I was under the impression silicon and nickel were the primary cell components.

Please correct me if I was misinformed about this.

[SunkenCiv]

Not sure we got all the info we might like from Musk et al. Reducing heavy metals in battery design is clearly important to them, but they also spoke of the acquisition of mining rights for lithium in a large clay-based deposit in Nevada. The use of silicon nanofibers was also speculated on but not confirmed by them.

[Moonman62]

I was surprised at the estimate of how much the production line will shrink in terms of plant footprint, that could (not necessarily would) mean battery plants going in rubblefields/tax holiday sites up here in the rust belt.

...

I don’t think so. Tesla plans to grow at least 50% a year for the next 10 years. Even with the increases in productivity, they will to struggle to make enough batteries and that includes increases in orders from the battery makers who supply them now.

[Moonman62]

$25,000 car in 3 years.

OMG... is that possible?

...

The last time Musk promised a $35,000 car it didn’t happen. But this time may be different. A smaller version of the Cybertruck would save some money with its unpainted origami sheet metal. Integrated batteries and large stamped parts will bring costs down, too, along with hundreds of cost saving tweaks. The problem is the resulting car will be unrepairable if it’s in an accident. However, if self driving works, then there should be many fewer accidents.