The lack of 4680 cells could slow down production of the Cybertruck by Tesla

A new report recently published in US media refers to a fairly serious problem that Tesla is reportedly facing at the moment as it scales up production of its new electric pickup. If what is being said is true, the American manufacturer is not being able to increase the production volume of its new-generation 4680 cells to the required levels, which as a consequence would be causing a bottleneck affecting Cybertruck production.

According to the report, if the current production rate of 4680 cells at the Texas Gigafactory is maintained, Tesla will only be able to put on the market during the coming year, 2024, around 24,000 units of its electric pickup. The American manufacturer set itself the goal of reaching an annual production volume of the Cybertruck close to 250,000 units by 2025, so at the current rate of 4680 cell production Tesla would be putting on the market just under a tenth of that. A situation that would certainly be quite worrying.

Apparently, according to anonymous sources inside the company, dry-coating the anode and cathode of each 4680 cell has become a real headache for Tesla’s engineers. The use of this revolutionary technique makes it possible to significantly reduce the amount of energy consumed and the time required for it, with the impact this has on reducing manufacturing costs. However, as a counterpart, it is by no means a simple task.

A new “Production Hell” for Tesla… this time with the Cybertruck

Tesla bought Maxwell Technologies in 2019 precisely for its battery technology and all the know-how that would now allow it to apply this production technique to the new 4680 cells fitted to the Cybertruck. But despite this, the results are not what was expected. In any case, the same report also states that the American manufacturer is pulling out all the stops, devoting enormous amounts of resources and means to achieving it. Only time will tell whether they will succeed or not.

For the time being, Tesla has officially not said a word about this matter, but Drew Baglino, the company’s vice president of engineering, stated some time ago that the company would be able to increase the production volume of 4680 cells at the Texas Gigafactory by using two different assembly lines, out of the eight it expected to have available by the end of 2024. The construction of those six additional assembly lines will not, however, go ahead until the first two are running at full capacity and the problem referred to in this same article has been solved.