Tesla for $25,000? New Panasonic battery set to cut cost of electric cars
Japanese electronics maker has been developing a bigger ‘4680’ cell that will improve vehicle range Panasonic is moving closer to bringing next generation lithium-ion batteries to the market, which is expected to substantially cut the cost of electric vehicles such as Tesla. The Japanese electronics maker has been developing a bigger “4680” battery that Tesla chief executive Elon Musk believes is key to placing EVs in the $25,000 price bracket. Tesla’s Model 3 starts at about $41,000 with tax incentives. The battery, about five times bigger than those currently supplied to Tesla, would allow the US car maker to lower production costs and improve vehicle range. The 4680 battery will have a “considerable impact” in lowering the cost of EVs, enabling them to spread more widely and, in turn, lower carbon emissions, said Kazuo Tadanobu, chief executive of Panasonic’s energy business. However, surging costs of raw materials, made worse by Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine, are expe...