BYD Denies Rumors of Supplying Tesla With Blade Batteries

BYD, China’s second-largest EV battery supplier, has denied rumors it is supplying Tesla with “blade batteries” on Wednesday, asserting that the company never told the media that it would do so, nor did it say that its blade batteries would be used in Tesla’s Model Y, according to ifeng.com.

Last Thursday, Pandaily reported that BYD would supply Tesla with “blade batteries” in the second quarter of next year, and that Tesla models equipped with “blade batteries” had entered the Type C testing stage. On August 6, a BYD insider confirmed the case, and revealed that Tesla’s first model with blade batteries may be the Model Y.

Thanks to a boom in the new EV and lithium battery industries, BYD’s share price exceeded 300 yuan ($46.25) for the first time last week. On the second day after the news broke, BYD’s intraday share price peaked at 317.3 yuan, with its market value exceeding 900 billion yuan at one point.

At present, Tesla’s Model 3 Standard Range Plus and Model Y Standard Range launched in July this year are equipped with CATL’s LFP battery. In February 2020, CATL signed an agreement to serve as Tesla’s battery supplier. In June 2021, CATL announced another supply agreement with Tesla to provide car batteries until 2025.

Recently, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk said at a Q2 report meeting that the company will gradually turn to adopt LFP batteries. In the future, two-thirds of Tesla batteries will be LFP batteries, and one-third may be Ternary polymer lithium batteries.

SEE ALSO: Tesla Giga Shanghai Reaches Annual Output of 450,000 Units

Tesla’s Giga Shanghai is continuously ramping up its production capacity due to the increasing demand of the Chinese domestic market and the growing exports of the factory. Tesla has previously stated that by the end of 2021, the annual production capacity of Tesla Giga Shanghai will reach 450,000 vehicles.

This will also expand the demand for power batteries, which are key components of EVs. It is also possible for Tesla to seek a second local battery supplier for this purpose.