Tesla is back in a bit of a bind with its production, especially when it comes to the much-anticipated Cybertruck. It seems like things aren’t going as smoothly as planned, and the culprit this time around is said to be a shortage of batteries.
The initial batch of Cybertrucks was recently sent out by Tesla. Before this, Elon Musk, the big boss at Tesla, had big dreams of churning out 250,000 of these trucks every year, hoping to hit that target by 2025.
But, here’s the catch: according to info from nine folks in the know, as reported by Reuters, Tesla is falling way short of its Cybertruck production goals.
So, what’s the issue? It turns out that Tesla is struggling to produce enough battery cells, specifically the 4680 cells used in the Cybertruck. These cells, along with the Cybertruck itself, are made at Tesla’s Texas facility. However, the current production rate is not cutting it to meet Musk’s grand plans. At the current pace, Reuters estimates that Tesla is only managing to produce around 24,000 Cybertrucks a year – that’s just a fraction of the intended target.
Elon Musk had hyped up the 4680 cells back in September 2020, claiming they’d give the Cybertruck a longer range and quicker charging times.
What makes these cells special is the dry electrode application process, which supposedly slashes costs and makes the production process more eco-friendly. But, according to insiders, while things are smooth sailing for the anode, making the cathode is turning out to be a bit of a headache.
An expert spilled the beans to Reuters, saying that no one has tried this dry electrode process on such a big scale before. So, Tesla not only needs to speed up the process but also develop the necessary tools and equipment.
If the term “production hell” sounds familiar, that’s because Musk coined it back in 2017 during the Model 3 production snags. Once again, problems with making battery packs are at the root of the issue.
