Rumor: Tesla Fremont Will Start with LFP Cells for Model 3 & Y SR; Giga Texas & Berlin Will First Make Model Y with 2170 Cells

Photo courtesy of Tesla, Inc.

Tesla is a fast-growing company, so its plans can change very quickly to meet dynamic need. A new rumor has revealed the latest plans for what kind of batteries the manufacturer will use to build its cars. According to the rumor, Tesla plans to start production of Model 3 and Model Y at its factory in Fremont using LFP cells from China. In parallel, the manufacturer is expected to begin production of Model Y at Giga Texas and Giga Berlin using 2170 cells.

Recently @TroyTeslike/Twitter shared some rumors about Tesla. According to them, the company intends to use LFP cells from China for the production of Standard Range Model 3 and Model Y at Fremont. It also gives a hint that the manufacturer intends to start production of the Standard Range Model Y in the U.S., which was canceled after the start of production. However, Giga Shanghai has started production of the Model Y SR, and now the U.S. factory is likely to follow this plan.

Tesla is actively expanding production, so it is obvious that the company needs a lot of battery cells. At the moment, Panasonic is not able to meet Tesla's needs for battery cells, so the manufacturer may look for other ways to provide components for the production of its cars.

Another part of the rumor is that the initial production of Model Y at Giga Texas and Giga Berlin will not start with 4680 battery cells, but with 2170 cells. This is likely due to the fact that Tesla faced unforeseen circumstances while scaling up production of the new batteries. During Q2 2021 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said:

"Right now, we have a challenge with basically what's called calendaring, or basically squashing the cathode, with material to a particular height. So it just goes through these rollers and gets squashed like pizza dough, basically. And - but very hard pizza dough. And then - it's causing - it's denting the calendar rolls. This is not something that happened when the calendar rolls were smaller, but it is happening when the calendar rolls are bigger. So it's just like - we were like, okay, we weren't expecting that."

Under the circumstances, starting production of Model Y at Giga Texas and Giga Berlin with the battery cells the company has access to now is the smartest move. While these rumors seem quite plausible, remember to take them with a grain of salt.

The rumor is,

• Fremont will start using LFP cells from China for Standard Range Model 3/Y from Oct 1st, 2021 and
• Model Y production in Texas/Berlin will start with 2170 cells instead of 4680.

— Troy Teslike (@TroyTeslike) August 21, 2021

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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter

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