Musk: Tesla expects to achieve mass production of 4680 batteries by the end of this year

On 4 August, Tesla held a shareholders' meeting in the USA. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, presented the company's future expansion plans.

Musk said that the company aims to reach a production rate of 2 million vehicles per year by the end of 2022 and will continue to build factories. He plans for Tesla to have between 10 and 12 giant factories. In addition, Musk expects Tesla to achieve "mass production" of the new 4680 battery by the end of 2022, which means that Teslas with the new 4680 battery will be sold on a large scale.

Some foreign customers have already received a Tesla Model Y with the 4680 battery and some owners have tested the performance of the battery. After the car showed zero range, the owner drove the Model Y into a charging station with V3 Superchargers, where he started charging at 12:25 p.m. By 1:17 p.m., the car showed a range of 270 miles. This means that the Model Y he was driving was almost 97% charged in 52 minutes.

The owner also said that the Model Y with the 4680 battery reached 250kW very quickly after charging, unlike when he had previously charged the Model with the older battery, and that he drove 3 miles normally after the vehicle had shown a range of 0.

According to Tesla, the 4680 cell has five times more energy per cell, a 16 per cent increase in range, six times more power and six times more power output than the polar-ear battery. And Musk says the 4680 battery saves a total of around 86% of the cost and 69% of the cost per kWh.

Japan's Panasonic Holdings said on 28 July that its energy division is currently supplying batteries to Tesla and will produce the 4680 battery in Japan in the next fiscal year.