Tesla confirms new 82kWh battery in Model 3, thanks to new cells

Tesla has confirmed that its new 2021 Model 3 vehicles are now equipped with a new 82 kWh battery – thanks to new, more energy-dense battery cells produced by Panasonic.

Earlier this year, Panasonic announced an additional investment of $ 100 million in Gigafactory Nevada, its partnership with Tesla to produce battery cells exclusively for the electric automaker.

As part of the announcement, Panasonic said it will increase the energy density of cells produced at Gigafactory Nevada by 5% and total production by 10%.

Last week, we also reported that Panasonic revealed that the new battery cells they are producing for Tesla at Gigafactory Nevada will also allow for faster charging.

We weren’t sure if they were already in Tesla vehicles, but we had our suspicions following recent efficiency improvements that resulted in longer range that Tesla released last month.

We now have the first proof that the new Tesla Model 3 vehicles are fitted with the new cells.

As / r / TeslaMotors user “Corio13” explained, Tesla sent out information about 2021 Model 3 vehicles to buyers in Europe in advance:

When shipping to Europe, Tesla already sends the papers to the customer before the car arrives, so they can be checked in in advance and a smooth pickup is guaranteed. This is why some German owners have already registered their cars which must be collected in late November or December.

Some of these Model 3 buyers have shared the registration information they received from Tesla and it confirms that the new battery packs have a capacity of 82 kWh in the Model 3 Long Range AWD (via tff-forum):

82 kWh corresponds to an increase of approximately 5% in the energy density allowed by the new battery cells.

These new cells are still 2,170 battery cells and not the new 4,680 cells that Tesla developed and unveiled on Battery Day in September. However, they could benefit from some chemical improvements that Tesla has developed for its new cell format.

As previously reported, Tesla’s 2021 Model 3 EPA ratings show the new AWD long-range dual-motor Model 3 getting a new record-breaking range of 353 miles on a single charge.

Taking Electrek

This is the confirmation we were looking for.

Tesla could have achieved higher efficiency with fewer batteries and longer run times, but it seems Tesla hasn’t changed anything and only uses larger capacity batteries.

Now we’re going to have to wait a few weeks to see how the carrying capacity has changed, if at all, but I’m glad to know.

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