Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumPanasonic May Be Planning a Huge New US Battery Factory
Panasonic plans to begin production of Tesla's new-design 4680 battery cell in 2024. When Roadshow first reported on the story, we knew that the company intended to add two production lines to its Wakayama factory in Japan. It turns out there's more to that story because according to a report published on Friday by Reuters, Panasonic is planning a whole new factory in the US.
Panasonic, which has been Tesla's battery bestie for years now, is looking to expand production in a big way, and it looks like that will mean building a gigantic new factory somewhere in the US. Reuters' source speculates this could be Oklahoma or Kansas, near the Texas border which would place it closer to Tesla's new Austin headquarters.
Panasonic plans to start mass-producing 4680 batteries in Japan in 2024, but it's unclear when this US factory could come online. If Tesla gets involved with the construction, it could be sooner rather than later. If not -- and this seems more likely -- it could be a few years at least.
Panasonic won't be the only firm in the 4680 business either. LG Energy Solutions, and possibly Samsung , will both produce the cells as well, which means once the production rollout starts, Tesla's production vehicles should quickly move to the new cell, supply permitting.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/panasonic-may-be-planning-a-huge-new-us-battery-factory-report-says/ar-AAUCEJ8
Miguelito Loveless
(4,457 posts)Since Oklahoma is moving to ban the sale, service, or delivery of Teslas in its state.
Finishline42
(1,091 posts)rumors where that Tesla was down to either Texas or OK for the plant they built in Austin.
I think that the angle they were after is excess wind power that they can buy on the cheap to charge their storage systems and use for their factory.
Austin probably won out because of the educated labor force - lot of high tech stuff going on there plus no state income tax didn't hurt.
Finishline42
(1,091 posts)46mm in diameter x 80mm tall.
Replaces the current 2170