A heated debate was sparked between Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, and Robin Zeng, founder of CATL, the main supplier of batteries for the American automotive company. During Musk’s recent visit to China, Zeng expressed strong doubts on Tesla’s ability to produce its own cells internally.
CATL, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited, has become the world’s largest producer of battery cells in recent years for electric vehicles, providing crucial components also to Tesla for its production in the Shanghai Gigafactory. Despite this partnership, Zeng has not spared criticism of Tesla’s plans to develop its own internally 4680 cylindrical batteries.
In an interview with ReutersZeng was revealed to have said directly to Musk that the bet on cylindrical 4680 batteries “it will fail and never succeed“. The founder of CATL, who has a doctorate in physics, was also unimpressed by Musk’s knowledge in electrochemistry: “we had a great debate and I showed him the problems. He remained silent. He doesn’t know how to make a battery. It’s about electrochemistry. He’s good with chips, software, hardware, mechanical things.”
Zeng also commented on Musk’s tendency to set unrealistic deadlines: “his problem is promising too much. I talked to him. Maybe something takes five years, but he says two years. I asked him why and he said he wants to push people.”
Zeng’s statements cast shadows on Tesla’s ambitious plans to produce its own batteries internally, a project on which the company is focusing heavily. Tesla currently buys most of its battery cells from suppliers like CATL and Panasonic, but is trying to develop one own production to reduce costs and increase the autonomy of its vehicles.
There are currently 4680 cells used only in the Cybertruck, and Tesla has had difficulty increasing production. Despite this, the company recently declared that it has made progress, saying that by the end of the year its cells will have lower costs than those of any competitor.
Zeng’s criticisms considered one of the world’s leading experts in the production of battery cellsraise doubts about the feasibility of these goals. However, it is important to consider that CATL has a clear interest in criticizing Tesla’s plans, given that domestic production by the American company could reduce orders from the Chinese supplier.
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The story highlights the technological and production challenges that Tesla faces to realize its vision of increasingly efficient and accessible electric vehicles. The outcome of this bet on batteries will likely have a significant impact on the future of the company and the entire electric mobility sector.
Source: www.tomshw.it
