Tesla CEO Elon Musk made a rare admission of mistake at the investor day, acknowledging that his insistence on the dry electrode technology for the 4680 battery was a “major error.” Launched in 2020, this technology has failed to achieve mass production due to the positive electrode material loss rate reaching as high as 70%-80% (the industry average is only 2%) and the equipment maintenance cycle as long as 45 days.

Currently, Tesla’s 4680 batteries actually use the traditional wet process, with energy density lower than that of the 2170 batteries, resulting in limited charging speed for the Cybertruck. Despite the difficulties, Tesla continues to advance capacity expansion—it produced its 100 millionth battery in September 2024 and plans to increase annual capacity to 100 GWh by 2025. To fill the gap, suppliers such as LG Energy Solution and Panasonic have launched mass production plans for 4680 batteries, and global capacity is expected to exceed 70 GWh by the end of the year. Musk promised to launch the LFP version of the 4680 battery in 2026 to reduce costs and supply chain dependence.