Elon Musk says that Tesla is looking into the potential of new battery cells made out of manganese. It comes amidst the ongoing astronomical prices of nickel, which has raised the prices of most electric vehicles.
GRUENHEIDE, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 03: Tesla head Elon Musk arrives to have a look at the construction site of the new Tesla Gigafactory near Berlin on September 03, 2020 near Gruenheide, Germany. Musk is currently in Germany where he met with vaccine maker CureVac on Tuesday, with which Tesla has a cooperation to build devices for producing RNA vaccines, as well as German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier yesterday.
As per a news story by Electrek, the CEO and founder of Tesla, Musk, said the whole tech industry should focus not only on the supply chain of batteries. Instead, the minerals that makeup batteries should also be looked into.
Elon Musk and Tesla Manganese Battery Cells
The Tesla boss talked about working on manganese batteries during his recent speech at the opening of the massive Gigafactory in Berlin, wherein he addressed the employees of the all-new facility in the capital city of Germany.
During the speech of the billionaire tech entrepreneur, the audience asked Musk about the idea of working with graphene-based battery cells.
The Tesla CEO responded by saying that he remains skeptical about using graphene in batteries as its production is a bit more complex than its other counterparts.
However, Musk further disclosed that his EV tech giant is currently looking into other materials for its batteries.
For instance, the billionaire went on to mention that Tesla is looking at the potential of manganese-based batteries.
Musk blurted out during his Berlin appearance that he personally "think there's an interesting potential for manganese."
Electrek said in the same report that Tesla is already using Manganese as part of its battery cells. However, it remains to be a minimal part of its overall chemistry.
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Tesla and Nickel Batteries
Despite that, the tech giant exec said that Tesla will still be using nickel-based battery cells in the future even as the price of the material is currently skyrocketing.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during an event to launch the new Tesla Model X Crossover SUV on September 29, 2015 in Fremont, California. After several production delays, Elon Musk officially launched the much anticipated Tesla Model X Crossover SUV.
However, Musk said that Tesla is focusing on nickel-based battery cells for the long-range variant of its electric vehicles, which has been growing in popularity.
On the other hand, the Tesla CEO said that it plans to focus on using iron-phosphate battery cells for the entry-level variants of its EVs that sport a shorter range.
According to a recent report by the New York Times, most EV makers use either cobalt, nickel, or manganese on their cars. However, American automakers like Tesla and Ford are now exploring iron phosphate batteries as well.
Related Article: Tesla CEO Elon Musk Opens Gigafactory in Berlin, the Company's First Manufacturing Facility in Europe
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Written by Teejay Boris
