News JVTech “It’s doomed to failure”: the president of the largest battery manufacturer cuts Elon Musk to pieces and his idea of super-powerful cylindrical cells
Published on 11/20/2024 at 07:30
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The world of electric vehicles is constantly evolving, and batteries, the heart of these vehicles, are at the center of all attention. At the moment, two of the biggest players in this sector are fighting each other: Elon Musk and Robin Zeng.
A technological standoff
At the heart of this hair-raising, the 4680 cylindrical battery technology developed by Tesla. These cells, larger and more powerful than traditional models, are expected to revolutionize the range and performance of electric vehicles. Elon Musk has high hopes for the technology, saying it would significantly reduce production costs and increase the energy density of batteries.
We had a very big debate and I showed him. He remained silent. He doesn’t know how to make a battery. This is electrochemistry. He is good at chips, software, hardware, mechanics. Robin Zeng (Reuters)
Yet, Robin Zengwhose company equips many Tesla models in China, as well as Ford electric vehicles, remains skeptical. During a meeting with Elon Musk last April, the founder of CATL expressed his doubts about the viability of this technology in the long term. According to him, Elon Musk “don’t know how to make a battery”. Zeng particularly highlighted the difficulties linked to the large-scale production of these cells, as well as the technical challenges to ensure their reliability and safety.. He was even particularly sharp in telling Tesla’s CEO that his 4680 cylindrical cell project “was doomed to failure and would never achieve success”.
Promises difficult to keep
Zeng’s criticisms do not stop there. In the columns of Reuters, the founder of CATL also criticizes Elon Musk for having a tendency to “overpromise” and setting unrealistic deadlines. This is particularly the case for autonomous driving technology, which Musk has promised to make fully operational for several years. “Maybe something needs five years.” But he says two years. I asked him why. He told me he wanted to push people”Zeng said.
Photo credit: BEYOND Expo (YouTube)
This aggressive strategy, if it allows teams to be mobilized and investors to be enthusiastic, can also lead to disappointment and loss of credibility. Recent reports about Tesla’s difficulties mass-producing 4680 cells seem to prove Zeng right. According to The InformationElon Musk has reportedly given his teams an ultimatum to resolve cost and production issues by the end of the year.
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