In the earlier decade, Elon Musk amazed the world with his futuristic imagination and projects. From lancing rockets into space to proposing monorail transport systems and Hyperloop. He is a visionary who has changed the way we look at technology and sparked a craze about the future. However, there is one such obstacle that he has yet to overcome and they are the batteries they are very predicament stopping Musk from raising the Tesla vehicles to the next level. 

However, he recently shared that Tesla is working on a revolutionary 4680 battery that is going to transform the entire electronic vehicle industry. In today's composition, we are going to explore Tesla’s new 4680 battery and see whether is it as advanced as it is meant to be.

The lithium-ion battery that powers most consumer electronics in today's society was first introduced by British chemists in the 1970s. But it was not until later in 1985 be exact, that a man named Akira Yoshino developed the first functioning lithium-ion battery prototype, and in 1991 scientists working for Sony created the first commercially viable lithium-ion battery. So what makes this lithium-ion battery special, is that it's better than any other type of battery that was used before.

First Rechargeable Battery

For example, the first rechargeable lead-acid batteries were created in 1859 ten times larger require three times longer charging time, and had 5 times smaller power density than Lithium-ion batteries. So it's of no surprise that lithium-ion batteries overhauled the world in an instant. However despite being way better than any other type of battery previously used Lithium-ion batteries still have their drawbacks and lag behind virtually every other electronic component today.

What did Elon Musk reveal on Battery Day?

Batteries are the reasons why our technology is not evolving as fast as it could push top scientists and engineers are yet to find a way to restore more energy in smaller spaces. But Elon Musk has recently revealed some of the details of its new 4680 battery which could cause a battery revolution and completely change our world as we know it. Ever since 2013 Tesla has had Battery Day events where they reveal their latest progress in the field of batteries it is one of the biggest days for Tesla enthusiast boys as they know that batteries are holding back the process of EVs.

This time Elon Musk revealed Tesla's new 4680 structure of the battery and placed it for advanced properties. It’s different from the current Panasonic 2170 Lithium Cobalt acid battery not only in properties but also in the very much in the structure of the battery. 

The new 4680 battery will be tabless, expecting that it reduces the electrical path consequently minimizing the resistance and reducing the heat. Additionally rejecting the former design involving tabs makes these batteries easier to produce as now it's essentially a one-piece battery instead of having multiple tabs which are used to cause manufacturing problems. Finally, the new Tesla 4680 battery won’t contain cobalt like the previous batteries. 

Cobalt is a big component of batteries, but its disadvantage is that it's toxic to humans. The less hazardous material used in a car is better and Cobalt was substituted with high nickel cathodes which result in even better performance. These reforms essentially allowed Tesla to fit more power in the lesser space. Just visualize Model 3. The long-range battery pack holds 44162170 battery cells while the same job would be fulfilled with only 960 new 4680 cells. The fewer singular parts a car requires, the simpler is it to manufacture and the cheaper it becomes.

Charging Speed

Now that we know about the new trend of this battery design we should talk about how it's going to affect us the consumers. For beginners, it's going to be 6 times more effective than its antecedents and hold fight time more energy. The new 4680 battery cell is also double the current 2170 but it's going to be way more efficient and result in more range for battery space. Subsequently, due to its innovative tabless structure, its charging times will be insanely fast. It's estimated that charging the new Tesla Model 3 with a 4680 battery pack from 10 to 80% will take just 15 minutes. 

Compared to the 25 minutes it currently takes. In case you are running to charge the new battery pack from 0 to 50%, it's going to take just 7 minutes which is almost equivalent to a gas. The new 4680 battery is not only better in Pretty much every way imaginable but it's also expected to be 50% cheaper than the current batteries. Not only it's simpler to make but it's also going to be 30 to 40% less Steel which is one of the most precious components in batteries. 

Eventually, the new battery is more environmentally friendly than its previous matches. It requires less water to make and is less dangerous to the environment resulting in Tesla EVs being greener than they previously were. It's assumed to be used in the latest Tesla Model 3 which is expected to come out in 2022 and the Tesla semi which is a new generation of trucks that's been already settled for three years and currently is prepared to roll out in 2022. 

However, it's important to point out that while the prototypes of Tesla’s new 4680 batteries are operating the entire job is not yet completed. As the Q2 financial report in 2021 proclaimed they have successfully verified the performance and lifetime of 4680 cells generated at our Kato facility in California while extraordinary progress has been made they still are progressing and can achieve volume production.

Internal crash trial of our structural pack architecture with single-piece front equipment has been successful. We all know that Tesla is no stranger to manufacturing delays. Nearly every Tesla vehicle is delayed and it’s enraging enthusiasts. However, Elon Musk has been working on it for almost a decade trying to find a way to speed up the manufacturing process. It's shown by the Giga factory in Berlin which was unveiled in 2019 and was planned to be inaugurated in the summer of 2021, Wistfully it was limited, and then now its launch date has been shifted back to the end of 2021.

Production of 4680 Batteries

The company assumes to manufacture up to 100 Gw/hrs in batteries per year guaranteeing that Tesla can feel the huge demand for new car models. By 2030 Tesla presumes to have several more numerous Giga factories producing the new 4680 batteries and hold Battery protection of up to 3 TeraWatts per hour per year fixing its position as the Global EV leader. We are yet to see whether Elon Musk will succeed in satisfying his commitments even if he does it's going to be Revolutionary also the whole electric vehicle industry.