All Tesla batteries are lithium-ion. There are three cathode chemical makeups: NCA (nickel-cobalt- aluminum), NCM (nickel-cobalt-manganese), and LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate) for prismatic cells.
They mainly use the lithium-ion battery but there are four types of them. They are the 18650-type, the 2170-type, the 4680-type, and the prismatic-type Tesla battery. Let's know about the Tesla battery types for different Tesla models. Throughout its nearly two-decade history, Tesla has exclusively employed these four battery types.
Tesla's first battery packs—the ESS packs made for the Tesla Roadster—were made up of 6,831 18650-type cells (3.7v cells, each cylindrical with a size of 18mm x 65mm). The cells were arranged into 11 sheets of 9 “bricks”, each with 69 cells (11 sheets x 9 bricks x 69 cells = 6,831 total cells).
What type of battery does Tesla use?
Tesla simply decided to use 18650-type (recently called 1865) cylindrical batteries, designed for general purpose (slightly adapted to EVs). They were difficult to use, due to a high number of small cells (low capacity) in the battery pack (several thousand), but available at a consistent quality and in high volume.
How many Tesla batteries are there?
On top of that, Tesla has started its own battery production - the 4680-type cell with undisclosed chemistry (but most likely a high energy dense one). Tesla's 1 millionth cell was produced in California in January (an electric car might need up to about a 1,000 such cells).
Most recently, Tesla has turned to prismatic Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LFP) batteries in the standard Model 3 (from CATL in China, 2021-2023) and possibly also in the 2023 Model 3 Long Range. The Model Y went through a similar battery evolution to the Model 3 with one additional iteration: Tesla's proprietary 4680 battery.
Who makes Tesla batteries?
Tesla has two key battery suppliers that provide them with the batteries needed to power their vehicles. Panasonic has made various types of battery for Tesla. The company originally produced Tesla's 18650 battery, before moving on to the newer 2170 batteries. In 2023, Panasonic will begin mass-producing the newest and largest 4680 batteries.