Elon Musk claims Tesla is developing a 621 mile range battery and a smaller hatchback vehicle for the European markets because he found it hard to park a Model X in Berlin
Months after failing to produce a million mile battery, Elon Musk is now making claims that Tesla is developing a cell with a range of 621 miles.
Musk made the announcement during a European Battery Conference saying Tesla's 'longest-range vehicles have over 327 miles of range and there's more we could actually do.'
'We even have some under development long term that could do 600 miles.'
Other than news about a more powerful cell, the billionaire also hinted at a smaller Tesla hatchback specifically for the European market.
'In the US the cars tend to be bigger... I was driving a Model X around Berlin and we had quite a lot of trouble finding a parking space that could fit it,' he said during the interview.
Months after failing to produce a million mile battery, Elon Musk is now making claims that Tesla is developing a cell with a range of 621 miles
On September 22, Musk took the stage for Tesla's live-streamed Battery Day to reveal the firm is producing a cell, dubbed 4680, at its pilot Fremont gigafactory that will reduce cost and lower the sales price of its electric vehicles closer to gasoline-powered cars.
However, on looking investors expected not only to see a working battery, but to also hear news that it provides drivers with one million mile range.
After the event, the furious investors slashed $50 billion from Tesla's market value.
Musk seems to have put the failed Battery Day behind him and is moving forward to eventually hold up to his promise of the million mile battery – one-step at time.
The CEO mentioned that the new tabless battery, 4680, will be used in the Tesla Semi, saying such ranges are achievable for an electric semi truck at 'around 300 Wh/kg'
The CEO mentioned that the new tabless battery, 4680, will be used in the Tesla Semi, saying such ranges are achievable for an electric semi truck at 'around 300 Wh/kg.'
'Getting a range of let's say 500 km is I think quite easy, trivial to be frank, for a semi truck and this is assuming a truck that is pulling a load of 40 metric tons,' said Musk.
'If you want, for long-range trucking, you can take the range up to, we think, easily 800 km, and we see a path over time to 1,000 km range for an heavy duty truck.
Also, to bring down the cost of batteries, factories would have to produce massive amounts of cells.
'Getting a range of let's say 500 km is I think quite easy, trivial to be frank, for a semi truck and this is assuming a truck that is pulling a load of 40 metric tons,' said Musk. 'If you want, for long-range trucking, you can take the range up to, we think, easily 800 km, and we see a path over time to 1,000 km range for an heavy duty truck'
To achieve this, Musk is now planning on building 'the world's largest' battery-cell factory near its electric car plant in Berlin.
He said battery cell production at the same German site would start with a capacity of around 100 gigawatt hours a year, before ramping up to 250 GWh per year.
At that point, the South African entrepreneur said he was 'pretty confident it'd be the largest battery-cell plant in the world'.
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