Musk: Two-thirds of future Tesla batteries will use lithium iron phosphate

Musk tweeted in response to some of the owners' questions consultation, said he prefers LFP batteries, because they can be charged to 100%, while ternary lithium batteries are only recommended to 90%.

We learned that the current domestic power battery is divided into two main factions, according to the different cathode materials are divided into LFP group and ternary lithium material group.

The so-called LFP battery refers to lithium-ion batteries with LFP as the cathode material. This type of battery is characterised by the absence of precious metal elements (such as cobalt, etc.). Due to the absence of precious metal materials, the raw material cost of LFP batteries is lower. In actual use, LFP batteries have the advantages of high temperature resistance, high safety stability, low price and better cycling performance.

Ternary lithium batteries are lithium batteries with lithium nickel cobalt manganate as the cathode material and graphite as the negative electrode material. Unlike LFP, ternary lithium batteries have a high voltage platform, which means they have greater specific energy and specific power for the same volume or weight. In addition, ternary lithium batteries also have significant advantages in terms of high-rate charging and low temperature resistance.

Last year, Tesla China claimed on Weibo that the standard range upgraded Model 3 with LFP batteries could be charged to 100 per cent, shattering past claims that electric car batteries rarely charge to full capacity. According to an official blog posted by Tesla Customer Support, the new standard range upgraded Model 3 with LiFePO4 batteries is proposed to be charged without regard to charging limits and until it is fully charged. This model is said to have removed the (daily use/long distance travel) recommendation from the charging settings page, meaning owners do not need to worry about whether they can charge to full capacity on a daily basis. The company also advises owners to fully charge at least once a week, saying that this helps to balance the voltage between battery packs and helps to keep the vehicle accurately predicting and displaying the remaining charge.

CATL has been part of the domestic Tesla supply chain since last year, supplying LFP batteries for the standard-range Model 3, and on July 8 this year, the standard-range Model Y was launched, also using CATL's LFP batteries.

Tesla CEO Musk said at the recent second quarterly meeting, Tesla will gradually shift to LFP battery solutions, the future two-thirds of the Tesla battery will use LFP, one-third may use ternary batteries.