BYD said it never told the media it would supply “blade batteries” to Tesla, nor did it say the “blade batteries” would be used in the Model Y, ifeng.com reported on August 11.
Last week, local Chinese media cls.cn said BYD would supply “blade batteries” to Tesla in the second quarter of next year, citing several sources familiar with the matter, and that Tesla models with “blade batteries” had already entered the C-sample testing stage.
Later, the Chinese technology website mydrivers.com quoted BYD insiders as saying that the report is true and the first model could be Model Y.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in the second quarterly meeting that Tesla will gradually shift to the use of lithium iron phosphate solution. Two-thirds of the future battery will use lithium iron phosphate, one-third may use ternary batteries.
The Model 3 Standard Range Plus and Model Y Standard Range currently use CATL’s lithium iron phosphate batteries, CATL will supply Tesla with power cells until 2025, according to the agreement renewed by the two sides in June.
The “blade battery” is a battery that BYD claims will not catch fire, and was first used in its flagship Han EV model.
BYD’s “blade battery” has not previously been supplied to other companies due to capacity constraints. But recent indications are that its capacity has been significantly increased, and the company is still building a lot of new battery capacity.
Late last month, Jiemian.com reported that BYD’s entire lineup of all-electric vehicles is now equipped with blade batteries, citing a company meeting note.
BYD also said it is now aggressively expanding capacity to handle future sales increases and supply to external customers, the report said.
