Panasonic shipped samples of its 4680 batteries to Tesla ahead of the production surge, Reuters recently reported. Mass production of the new battery is expected to begin at the plant in Wakayama in March of next year when the company’s fiscal new year begins and before production is moved to North America.
Kazuo Tadanobu, CEO of Panasonic Energy, shared remarks on the first day of Panasonic’s annual investor event. He said, “A pilot line, created first in Japan, made it possible to start large-scale prototype production in May.”
The remarks hint at plans for a new plant in the U.S. that will help Tesla as it continues its EV dominance. Reuters, citing anonymous sources, noted that Panasonic has its eye on Kansas and Oklahoma as potential factory sites that would supply Tesla’s new Gigafactory in Texas.
This wasn’t the only presentation to investors by Panasonic….
Panasonic Now Mass Producing Tesla 4680 Batteries
