Tesla 4680 & Structural Batteries
The battery becomes the car.
Explore this event on the interactive timeline →Tesla introduced the 4680 cylindrical battery cell and the concept of the "structural battery pack." Instead of putting battery modules inside a car frame, the battery pack itself became the physical, load-bearing chassis of the vehicle.
Key Numbers
- Energy Density (1991 Li-Ion)
- ~100 Wh/kg
- Energy Density (2020 4680)
- ~260 Wh/kg
Verified Facts
- The 4680 cell (46mm wide, 80mm tall) provided 5x more energy and 6x more power than previous generation cells, heavily reducing the cost per kWh.
- By making the battery structural, Tesla eliminated redundant metal framing, significantly reducing the weight of the vehicle and increasing its range.
- This Gen 1 cell measured roughly 244 Wh/kg — actually a touch below the 21700 cells it replaced (~253 Wh/kg); the later Gen 2 "Cybercell" reaches ~272 Wh/kg.