Tesla Panasonic battery supplier plans to switch from 18650 to 2170 cells

Tesla's battery provider, Panasonic, plans to switch the 18650 battery cell production line, which currently supplies cells for Tesla's S and X models, to a production of 2170 cells, according to a Japanese report.

Tesla has long used 18650 cylindrical Li-ion battery cells in its vehicles.

It's the same cell format as laptops and some other electronics.

Tesla was the first to use these cylindrical cells in electric vehicles.

Its supply comes mainly from Panasonic's battery factories in Japan.

In 2017, Panasonic began producing a new, larger 2170 battery format for the new Tesla Model 3 at Gigafactory 1 in Nevada.

The larger cell design allows for higher energy density and Tesla's 2170 cell cells are capable of higher charge rates.

The Japanese electronics giant also continued to supply Tesla with 18650 cells from Japan for the Model S and Model X programs.

Now, according to a new report published in Japan, Nikkan Kogyo Journal, Panasonic plans to invest in modernizing its 18650 cell production lines in Japan to produce the new 2170 cells developed with Tesla.

The report indicates that the move would be completed by the end of the fiscal year.

Panasonic commented on the report saying "nothing has been decided" yet.

This report follows our own report on the current refresh of Tesla's S and X models, which could also include the transition from a 18650 cell-based battery architecture to the newer 2170 cells. .

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently said that Tesla Gigafactory 1 battery cell production is still limited to around 23 GWh, despite investments in 35 GWh capacity.

Electrek's Take

This is another interesting development. This is not a confirmation that Tesla is switching models S and X to the 2170 cells, but it certainly starts to look like this.

Tesla could certainly use more 2170 cell production capacity for Model 3 and Model Y, but the major problem is that if Panasonic transfers its existing 18650 lines, the S and X models will not have cell power. .

I also think that we will see Tesla soon approve of other battery cell suppliers for its vehicles. Elon mentioned that there will soon be new Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai.

As we have often said, securing battery power is essential for mbad production of electric vehicles.

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