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MIT Has Beaten Tesla At Their Own Game.
24M’s SemiSolid battery is a game changer.
Musk’s plan to dominate the EV world was centred on Tesla’s 4680 battery. In theory, it could be one of the cheapest and highest-performance batteries out there, giving Tesla a massive technological advantage. But the reality of manufacturing them has kneecapped Musk’s plans, as they are currently underperforming and comparatively expensive due to massive manufacturing issues. Interestingly, 24M, an MIT spinoff company, used a completely different approach to create a high-performance battery that is cheaper than the 4680 and far easier to manufacture. So, how has 24M outdone Tesla? And will this threaten Tesla’s success?
Tesla’s approach to design is very basic but ruthlessly efficient. Step one: Simplify the design by reducing the number of components. Step two: Make assembly processes quicker with fewer steps. Step three: Double down on high-value features, such as high-resolution screens, self-driving systems, efficiency, or high-speed charging, and not-so-valued features, like material quality, colour choices, or trim choices. This process gives Tesla a product that costs far less to manufacture but is valued highly by customers, allowing them to charge more per vehicle and have astonishingly high profit margins. Tesla then uses this massive amount of profit to fund its rapid expansion.
You can see the same approach in the 4680 battery. This next-generation cell has several design choices that lean into this “simplify and double down on high-value features” method. Firstly, it is giant, meaning a battery pack is made of only 800+ cells rather than the 10,000+ cells in the old 2170-based packs. These cells are also glued together rather than bolted in, which makes the 4680 battery pack far cheaper to assemble than any other. But this design does sacrifice repairability, as you can’t replace a single 4680 cell without destroying the entire pack thanks to the glue. Tesla also wanted to use a new dry-coating process for manufacturing the electrodes rather than the traditional wet-coating process. This would reduce the time and complexity of battery assembly, making the 4680 cheaper. Finally, Tesla wanted to use a fully silicone anode and zero cobalt in the 4680, making it more environmentally friendly and having faster charge times…
