Tesla expands cheaper battery tech

Tesla is continuing to roll out its cheaper Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery chemistry, with US buyers of the entry-level Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus now being offered the same technology already available in Australia, Asia and Europe.

According to an email recently sent by Tesla to its US customers and then shared on Twitter, people who have ordered a Model 3 Standard Range Plus can have their orders filled within weeks – rather than waiting until late 2021 – if they elect to have the LFP battery in their cars instead of a Lithium Nickel-Cobalt Aluminium Oxide (NCA) battery.

In part, the email said: “Due to limited supply and strong customer demand, we are introducing the Model 3 Standard Range Plus battery pack, which we already released in Europe and Asia, to North America. This battery has a range of 253 miles (407km) (est.)”.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to the tweet with: “Our intent with this pack is that product experience is roughly equivalent between nickel & iron.

“I’d personally slightly opt for iron pack, as it wants to be charged to 100%, whereas nickel prefers ~90%.”

In the US, delivery times for new Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus orders are now out to 2022 because Tesla, like many car-makers, is suffering from the global semi-conductor shortage.

This was clarified by Musk in his Q2 earnings webcast in July, when he said: “Chip supply [is a] governing factor on our output”.

The move to offer the Chinese-made LFP battery pack in the US-produced Model 3 is also the latest in a shift Tesla is making towards the iron-based technology for many of its products, as we foreshadowed early last year.

In Musk said Tesla was making a “long-term shift” towards the cheaper LFP cells in both its energy storage products and entry-level EVs.

Musk said Tesla’s battery mix might one day be about two-thirds iron-based and one-third nickel-based. “And this is actually good because there’s plenty of iron in the world,” he said.

The Australian-market Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus vehicles have been fitted with the LFP battery – instead of the NCA battery – since production for all Australian-bound Model 3 sedans moved to the Shanghai Gigafactory in late 2020.

The Shanghai Gigafactory Shanghai has become Tesla’s primary vehicle export hub, supplying markets in Europe, the UK and the APAC region.

Production of the Model 3 in China co-incided with the release of the updated 2021 model, which arrived here in late 2020 when the updated MY21 Model 3 arrived here accompanied by price reductions across the range.

Tesla dropped Model 3 pricing again in July, to a new all-time low starting pricing of under $60,000. Combined with freer supplies from China, this has led to record sales this year.

While the Tesla Model S and Model X remain unavailable in Australia until MY22 vehicles arrive in 2022, the Model 3 is now outselling all other EVs in Australia combined by more than three times and should remain the nation’s top-selling EV until the closely related Model Y mid-size SUV arrives from China with the same LFP battery tech.

While there are many differences between Tesla’s nickel-based and iron-based battery chemistries, in a nutshell LFP cells use cheaper and non-precious materials and offer a fuller charge and longer life, but are heavier and less energy-dense than NCA cells – and therefore deliver a slightly shorter driving range.

According to the email sent to US customers, the LFP battery range in the US is reduced by an estimated 10 miles (16km) to 253 miles (407km).

In Australia, the Tesla website quotes a 448km (WLTP) range for the LFP-equipped Model 3.

The LFP battery is supplied by Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Limited (CATL), which began producing batteries in 2011 from its factory at Ningde, China.

CATL is now the world’s largest EV battery manufacturer, making batteries for the likes of not only Tesla but also BMW, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Volvo.

Related: carsales Best Electric Car for 2021