According to a new report from Asia-based business newspaper Nikkei Asia, Panasonic will be joining Tesla in producing the EV giant’s newly introduced 4680 battery cells.
Tesla unveiled its new tabless in-house battery cell during its highly anticipated Battery Day event this past September. The automaker also announced its plans to produce it, but reassured they will continue to secure as much battery supply from other manufacturers as possible.
During Tesla’s first ten years of EV production, the company worked exclusively with Panasonic. After production was under way at Gigafactory Shanghai, Tesla begin using cells from different manufacturers, like LG Chem and CATL for the production of the made-in-China Model 3.
Now, according to new reports from Nikkei Asia, Panasonic is working on building production lines to produce prototypes of Tesla’s 4680 battery cells: “Panasonic will set up a prototype production line at existing facilities. The cost of the project is expected to run into the tens of millions of dollars.”
Production of the prototype cells could start as early as next year and could lead to a new supply agreement with Tesla, according to the publication. The new cells are currently being produced at a pilot plant in Fremont, California. Production at Gigafactory Berlin as well as other sites are reportedly currently in the works as well.