7 ms·
Doing a quick bit of searching based on the 4680 makes me think that there has been or will be a change from NMC811 to LFP chemistry in the 4680, including one
by fencepost 9mo ago
Doing a quick bit of searching based on the 4680 makes me think that there has been or will be a change from NMC811 to LFP chemistry in the 4680, including one article talking about changing to US and European-based in-house manufacturing and reducing dependence on China.
I'm no fan of Tesla, but this looks like the collapse of the contract with the supplier for the battery chemistry they've moved away from, aka "no [more] big deal."
2023 article confirming NMC chemistry: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/1945-7111/ad14d0 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/1945-7111/ad14d0
5/2025 article discussing change to LFP: https://roboticsbiz.com/teslas-4680-lfp-battery-explained-cheaper-safer-and-made-in-the-usa/ https://roboticsbiz.com/teslas-4680-lfp-battery-explained-ch...
3/2025 article comparing BYD's LFP and Tesla's NMC/NCM: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666386425000529 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266638642...
- red75prime 9mo agoYeah, it's typical of Elektrec to interpret anything Tesla-related in the worst light. I personally fact checked articles about "Autopilot disengages milliseconds before collision" and the one related to Benavides v. Tesla case. In the first case they jumped to conclusions. In the second case they "forgot" to mention any details that contradict their narrative: that there were two cases separated by years, that the police has received all the information they needed in the first case, that the driver was pressing the accelerator.
- fartfeatures 9mo agoMy understanding is Fred (Electrek) has been nothing but negative about Tesla since he got upset that they haven't released the roadster yet. Something to do with having enough referral points to get one. It has become his whole identity and it is sad to see.
- thejazzman 9mo agoPretty sure those comments are tongue in cheek. And it’s not that he’s dying to buy one, Tesla owes him one, and doesn’t have to fulfill it by never making any HN audience loves to undermine one of the only places actually objectively calling out the mega corps
- red75prime 9mo agoI wouldn't speculate about his reasons, but many of his articles are objectively bad journalism.
- 56J8XhH7voFRwPR 9mo agoI havent seen an article on that site be remotely positive to tesla in a long time if ever. Its weird, the obsession with Tesla hating.
- schmidp 9mo agohe also sold all is tesla stock, so I assume there is some incentive too feel better in case tesla fails.
- t1234s 9mo agoDoes having larger LFP cells, like the 4680 format, allow this chemistry to be used in higher-performance models? Right now it looks like only the RWD basic models use LFP cells everything else uses NMC.
- itsamario 9mo agoThis is more recent and informative. https://youtu.be/-sN2_Lp10lw?si=blBPFQ9jy2L8rCNp https://youtu.be/-sN2_Lp10lw?si=blBPFQ9jy2L8rCNp
- iknowstuff 9mo agoThis makes sense but does it make sense to manufacture LFPs as 4680 cylinders instead of rectangular blocks/blades, given https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BYD_Blade_battery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BYD_Blade_battery ?
- cyberax 9mo agoYep. Prismatic cells have poorer packaging-to-material ratio (circles are optimal). They offer better thermal properties, but thermals are not the main limiting factor anymore. And the US automakers tried prismatic cells before. Chevy Volt used them in 2012!
- vel0city 9mo agoChevy sells EVs with prismatic and pouch cells. I don't recall any they've widely sold that used cylinder cells. Most automakers use prismatic cells on their cars, even non-LFP variants.
- onethought 9mo agoI’m not sure id call Chevy widely sold, yet. Their full year sales don’t even match a single quarter of Tesla.
- vel0city 9mo agoI can go to any major metro area in the US and go buy a GM EV today. That's widely sold.
- onethought 9mo agoThat’s “widely available” — no one is buying them, so not “widely sold”
- ggreer 9mo agoAlso GM had to replace batteries in 142,000 Chevy Bolts & Volts due to fire risk, so I'm not sure that should count as an example of a successful use of non-cylindrical, non-LFP batteries.