- Tesla just produced its 100 millionth 4680 battery cell
- This is double the number of total cells that it had produced in June
- The rapid jump may indicate that Tesla has solved its scaling problem with the form factor
It's been almost exactly four years since Tesla unveiled its new 4680 form factor at its Battery Day event in September 2020. Its goal was to create a new cell that would allow for greater energy density and affordable manufacturing—a step towards creating its (eventual) $25,000 EV.
In June, Tesla told the world that it produced its 50 millionth cell. And now, 101 days later, Tesla has doubled that production, reaching a production milestone of 100 million cells produced. Here's why that matters.
Tesla's journey to the 4680 hasn't been without issues. After acquiring Maxwell Technologies in 2019 for its unique "dry coating" process, the automaker has been working tirelessly to perfect the unique tabless design of the battery—one of the keys to chasing the lowest dollar per kilowatt-hour. But it's also proven to be a manufacturing nightmare for the automaker.
Five years into the process, CEO Elon Musk reportedly gave the team in charge an ultimatum: fix it by the end of the year or we could ditch it altogether. That was back in May, and now four months later, it seems like the company might have a breakthrough.
The assumption is warranted after Tesla's production of the cells exploded in recent weeks. Tesla first celebrated one million 4680s in January 2022, followed by 10 million in June 2023—around 562,000 cells per month. Tesla then announced it reached its 50 millionth cell a year later in June 2024, which means that it increased its output to an average of more than 833,000 cells per month.
Over the weekend, Tesla celebrated the production of its 100 millionth cell, which means that Tesla is now producing an average of 495,000 cells every single day. To put it into perspective: 29 months for the first 50 million, and 3 months for the second.
That's pretty darn impressive.
With its second-quarter earnings report, Tesla announced that it entered validation testing of its very first dry cathode 4680 cells in July. Its test subject was a prototype Cybertruck, which makes sense given that the 4680 is Tesla's cell of choice for the vehicle.
It seems that the ramp-up means that Tesla is satisfied with the production of these cells thus far. It's unclear if the increase is attributed to the dry cathodes, or if Tesla is just ramping up production of existing cells, however, the automaker has now produced enough cells to build nearly 60,000 Cybertrucks.
Tesla says that ramping up production of the 4680 will be the key to cost reduction across its lineup—one of the company's top priorities right now. And if Tesla has perfected the process, it seems like that goal is becoming more achievable by the minute.
