On June 12th, it was reported by foreign media that Tesla, which had already doubled the production capacity of its 4680 battery in the third quarter of last year, is preparing to increase the production capacity of this type of battery in California. They have already leased related factories.
According to two anonymous sources cited by the media, Tesla has leased a factory in California that will be used for the production of 4680 batteries. The new factory, which exceeds 210,000 square feet (about 20,000 square meters), was originally planned to be a manufacturing center for Applied Materials but the lease has been canceled.
The media reports that the new Tesla factory is only three miles away from their Fremont factory in California, and even closer to their Kato Road factory, which is currently considered the main production facility for the 4680 battery.
The 4680 battery, introduced by Tesla during Battery Day in 2020, is larger and has a higher energy density, output power, and lower cost compared to the previous 2170 battery.
Although Panasonic, LG Energy Solution, and other suppliers have also been conducting related research and development after Tesla introduced the 4680 battery, Tesla has been producing them in-house as well. In fact, during Tesla’s Q3 earnings call last year, the CFO revealed that the production capacity of the 4680 battery would exceed the demand for producing more than 1,000 cars at the end of Q4.
