Photo: Tesla
After reaching a 5-GWh per year battery production capacity at Giga Texas in October 2023, Tesla surpassed another important milestone. The EV maker announced it now produces enough 4680 battery cells to build 1,000 Cybertrucks per week. This means that 4680 cell production is no longer a bottleneck, allowing Giga Texas to make more than 50,000 Cybertrucks per year.
Tesla was forced to delay the Cybertruck production start because the 4680 battery cells were not yet ready for volume manufacturing. This became clear after Tesla built the Semi trucks with 2170 cells and discontinued the 4680-cell Model Y. Tesla explained that the latter was taken out of production because the EV maker needed to upgrade the production lines for the second-generation of 4680 cells, also known as "Cybercells."
Tesla continued to grapple with production issues even after the first Cybertrucks started deliveries. In January, Chinese media claimed that Tesla was so constrained with 4680 cell production that it needed to import battery materials from China. More specifically, in the second half of 2023, Tesla imported cathode coils from two second-tier Chinese battery makers and shipped them to Giga Texas for the 4680 cell production.
However, during the Q4 2023 earnings call, Tesla denied that the 4680 cell production was a bottleneck for the Cybertruck. As stated in the shareholder deck, Tesla could theoretically produce 125,000 Cybertrucks per year at Giga Texas. However, it builds far fewer than that, even after two months of ramping up production. Many things can impact Cybertruck ramp-up besides battery cell production.
Tesla announced a new milestone in 4680-cell output, reaching the manufacturing capacity to produce enough cells for 1,000 Cybertruck per week. This equals more than 50,000 units per year, the threshold of volume production at Tesla. Of course, the EV maker is not yet building that many Cybertrucks, which means 4680 cells are clearly not the bottleneck.
However, not everything is good in the Teslaverse. The new milestone indicates that Tesla reached a 6.2-GWh per year run rate at Giga Texas. This represents a 24% improvement compared to the 5-GWh per year production capacity announced in October 2023. Industry insiders like Jordan Giesige from the Limiting Factor channel (@LimitingThe) are not very impressed, noting that it took Tesla more than five months to add 1.2 GWh of production capacity.
So far, it's unclear whether the increase in production capacity is attributed to solving production issues with the 4680 cells or the necessity to ramp up Cybertruck production. Most likely, it's a combination of the two factors. Tesla is expected to offer an update during April's Q1 2024 earnings call. However, we will know that the 4680 cell production is in full swing when Tesla adds back the Model Y, and, possibly, other models will use the larger cells.
Tesla continued to grapple with production issues even after the first Cybertrucks started deliveries. In January, Chinese media claimed that Tesla was so constrained with 4680 cell production that it needed to import battery materials from China. More specifically, in the second half of 2023, Tesla imported cathode coils from two second-tier Chinese battery makers and shipped them to Giga Texas for the 4680 cell production.
However, during the Q4 2023 earnings call, Tesla denied that the 4680 cell production was a bottleneck for the Cybertruck. As stated in the shareholder deck, Tesla could theoretically produce 125,000 Cybertrucks per year at Giga Texas. However, it builds far fewer than that, even after two months of ramping up production. Many things can impact Cybertruck ramp-up besides battery cell production.
Tesla announced a new milestone in 4680-cell output, reaching the manufacturing capacity to produce enough cells for 1,000 Cybertruck per week. This equals more than 50,000 units per year, the threshold of volume production at Tesla. Of course, the EV maker is not yet building that many Cybertrucks, which means 4680 cells are clearly not the bottleneck.
However, not everything is good in the Teslaverse. The new milestone indicates that Tesla reached a 6.2-GWh per year run rate at Giga Texas. This represents a 24% improvement compared to the 5-GWh per year production capacity announced in October 2023. Industry insiders like Jordan Giesige from the Limiting Factor channel (@LimitingThe) are not very impressed, noting that it took Tesla more than five months to add 1.2 GWh of production capacity.
So far, it's unclear whether the increase in production capacity is attributed to solving production issues with the 4680 cells or the necessity to ramp up Cybertruck production. Most likely, it's a combination of the two factors. Tesla is expected to offer an update during April's Q1 2024 earnings call. However, we will know that the 4680 cell production is in full swing when Tesla adds back the Model Y, and, possibly, other models will use the larger cells.
Produced over 1k Cybertrucks’ worth of 4680 cells at Giga Texas last week! pic.twitter.com/DkIrGr2zTF
— Cybertruck (@cybertruck) March 20, 2024
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