Robin Zeng, President of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), the world’s largest electric vehicle battery manufacturer, made striking statements about Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s 4680 cylindrical battery cell technology. Zeng stated that this technology will fail and this will not change in any way.
Tesla called the 4680 cells “baseless” and announced that these cells had five times more energy capacity and that 100 million units were produced in September. However, in a report prepared by The Information, it was stated that Musk gave his team until the end of the year to solve the cost and performance problems experienced in this battery technology.
While CATL specializes in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, these batteries attract attention with their reliability and cost advantages, although they generally offer lower range. CATL’s batteries are used in Tesla’s vehicles produced in China and in electric vehicle models such as the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning produced by Ford in North America.
While Zeng criticized Musk’s knowledge of battery technology, he praised his abilities in software, hardware and mechanics. However, he noted that one of Musk’s biggest problems is that he constantly “overpromises.” In particular, he stated that Tesla’s optimistic predictions about Full Autonomous Driving (FSD) technology do not reflect reality.
CATL and Tesla tensions show battery competition is heating up
This debate between CATL and Tesla points to intensifying battery competition in the global electric vehicle market. While Tesla aims to be a pioneer in the market with its innovative battery technologies, CATL prefers to serve a wide range of customers with its lower-cost and reliable LFP batteries. However, Zeng’s harsh criticism highlights the magnitude of the difficulties Tesla is experiencing with its 4680 cell.