Cylindrical batteries are being thought-about by GM, in response to a report from South Korea. Tesla is ramping up its new battery cells in Nevada for rather more than the Semi. And can Tesla tease extra a few Robovan, a Mannequin 2, or one thing fully totally different in simply over a month? This and extra, right here at Inexperienced Automotive Experiences.

Tesla introduced a $3.6 billion enlargement of its Nevada battery “Gigafactory” that it says will produce the Semi plus the corporate’s new-format 4680 battery cells at 100 gigawatt-hours yearly—sufficient U.S.-made batteries for 1.5 million light-duty automobiles, it says. Most noteworthy, maybe, have been the manufacturing good points and the way Tesla goals to make that stage of battery capability with a smaller facility than what it presently must make 35 gigawatt-hours.

That output is greater than Tesla wants for the Semi, and it additionally teased the concept of a number of future Tesla merchandise below improvement, a few of which will likely be powered by 4680 cells and could also be revealed as a part of a March 1 Investor Day. As CEO Elon Musk stated Wednesday—maybe referring to why the Semi was delayed—new merchandise have to match the place (and when) the cells can be found. 

And GM is reportedly mulling the opportunity of cylindrical cells for future EVs. Though the report doesn’t counsel an all-out shift to the format like what BMW signaled final yr, it could be a stunning flip for an organization that has stated it’s all-in on large-format pouch cells made by a three way partnership with LG and now bankrolled partly by the DOE. 

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