World’s largest battery maker says Elon Musk’s 4680 cells ‘will fail’

Robin Zeng, founder of the world’s largest EV battery company, says Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s big bet on 4680 cylindrical cell technology “will fail and will never succeed.” Mr. Zeng, Chairman of China Modern Amperex Technology (CATL), said: say Reuters When Musk visited China in April, “We had a huge discussion and I showed it to him. He was silent. He doesn’t know how to make batteries.”

Tesla’s “tableless” 4680 cells, used in some cars including the Cybertruck, are said to have “five times” more energy capacity, and the company says announced in september It was producing 100 million pieces. recent Reported by information Musk said he has given the team working on the battery a year-end deadline to address cost and other issues.

CATL batteries, on the other hand, are installed in everything from Tesla cars in China to Ford EVs in North America such as the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning. The company specializes in lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP), which typically don’t have as long a range as the various cylindrical cell units used in many Tesla cars.

Zeng was not impressed with Musk’s knowledge of batteries, but thought he was good at chips, software, hardware and “mechanical stuff.”

Zeng also commented that Musk’s problem is that he often “overpromises” his schedule, which he habitually does, especially when it comes to fully self-driving technology. “Maybe something takes five years. But he says two years. I definitely asked him why. He told me he wants to push people.”