Tesla held its annual shareholders' meeting and long-awaited Battery Day event in Palo Alto, California, celebrating the latest achievements and immediate plans. The event was held in the open air. The shareholders were in their cars, observing social distancing advice. The shareholders honked their horns to show their approval of Elon Musk's remarks.
In this article, we have collected the key announcements of Tesla's Battery Day:
New 4680 Cells
One of the main announcements of the event is Tesla's sensational brand-new battery. The new tabless cells, which Tesla is calling the 4680 cells (46 mm – diameter, 80 mm – height), stand out for their lower internal resistance values. Tesla engineers have done laser engraving, which has reduced the length of the charge to 50 mm, compared with 250 mm in current cells.
The new form factor delivers a 5x increase in power consumption, a 6x increase in power, and will increase the range of Tesla vehicles by 16%.
At the presentation, CEO Elon Musk said that new Tesla batteries' mass production would begin in 2022. They are primarily intended for future Semi, Cybertruck, and Roadster vehicles.
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Reduced Prices for Powerpack
Tesla cut prices for the Powerpack battery backup system by 27%. It fell from $172,000 to $125,000.
Tesla's New Cathode Plant
Tesla will build a new cathode plant for its own batteries in North America to reduce supply chain costs and simplify cathode manufacturing. According to Musk, the current process is ineffective, and the company has figured out how to reduce the cost of producing cathodes by 76% while reducing water consumption to zero.
New Model S on Plaid Transmission
Tesla has unveiled the new flagship Model S on a Plaid all-wheel drive transmission with three electric motors. Simultaneously, the manufacturer confirmed that the novelty would not be released this year, as initially planned, but it will be launched at the end of next year.
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Tesla for $25,000
At the presentation of Tesla Model 3 in 2016, the head of the company, Elon Musk, promised that the electric car would be sold at an affordable price of $35,000. As a result, it took the company three years to reach this goal and release the Tesla Model 3 for $35,000.
The final announcement of the Tesla Battery Day presentation was the mysterious $25,000 Tesla, which will also receive a full-fledged autopilot. The car has no name yet, and the company has not disclosed any other details except for the approximate release date. And again, Tesla will work on it for three years.
