tesla's huge battery deal suggests sales could quintuple within 4 years - 18650 battery cell
Tesla Motors and Panasonic, the battery supplier, are back on the drawings.
Two years ago, the two companies reached an agreement that Panasonic will provide Tesla with enough batteries to produce 80,000 cars in four years.
This year alone, Tesla is expected to deliver 21,000 cars, and has set a goal of doubling production by the end of next year, so a new supply agreement with Panasonic is needed.
Today, the two companies announced that Panasonic will provide Tesla with nearly 2 billion batteries in the next four years for S-cars and the upcoming X-suv.
Tesla's largest battery pack uses about 7000 batteries, and the number involved is enough to accommodate nearly 300,000 cars.
Given that sales will grow over time, Tesla seems ready to sell 100,000 cars in the final year of the agreement-
Five times that of 2013.
Of course, the supply agreement does not represent a positive demand for many vehicles, but even with this arrangement, Tesla is confident that the company's cars will remain strong.
The company just started selling in Europe this summer, where the car was quickly gaining traction in Norway, and CEO Elon Musk recently defended the model in Germany.
Tesla's next target is Asia, where a Chinese buyer is keen to be the first to own Tesla, who paid $410,500 for it.
What's amazing about Panasonic-
Tesla's agreement is that the entire Lithium
Ion cylinder battery industry (
Type used by Tesla)
It consumes 0. 66 billion batteries a year, and Tesla alone consumes 0. 5 billion batteries a year.
These batteries are mainly used in laptops, rechargeable flashlights, and Tesla's cars. (
Other electric vehicles use larger batteries).
It is not clear whether the new agreement is for a unique --to-Tesla cell.
When the company showed the battery, I talked to the company-
Exchange technology and executives in June discussed the possibility of a slightly larger battery that simplifies battery pack design.
But two recent car fires in Tesla have shown that the company is also taking pains to limit the risk of battery explosions, A high number of batteries plus a substance called "expanded viscous substance" helps ensure this.
In addition, Tesla's current battery is a standard model called 18650.
If the company is committed to the unique design of Panasonic, it may take at least a few years to get into use, giving Tesla time to get other manufacturers to speed up the production of the design.
Even with the new supply agreement, the upcoming $35,000 sedan is referred to by some as the E-sedan, which may require another billion batteries each year.
The agreement announced today did not mention the car.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that figure 100,000 is the ability to infer that 18650 of cells grow.
Tesla may take advantage of some of these capabilities to provide a larger range for buyers, but improved battery performance also means that fewer batteries may be needed as the protocol progresses.
In other words, these 2 billion batteries may represent more cars than the ones above.
Estimates mentioned
If the demand for Model S and X is not as strong as Tesla hopes, then the battery production is definitely likely to be transferred to Model E, but Tesla seems to be preparing to take a bigger share of the luxury car market than it thought two years ago.
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