During today’s May 2nd conference call, Elon mentioned that they are moving away from using Cobalt in their cells and might end up at very little Cobalt. I have no idea what chemistry they will be using instead....
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Goodbye Cobalt
- Thread starter Cosmacelf
- Start date
Goodbye may be a bit of an overstatement, however it is good to see that they are recognizing the supply issues with cobalt and moving to lessen their usage of it. They're still using a Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminum cathode chemistry though, so they'll need some cobalt.
SureValla
Member
Jeffrey B. Straubel - Tesla, Inc.
I think directionally, Rod, it's helpful to understand the different commodities and the trends that we're pursuing in the batteries. Being on a path to reduce cobalt usage, for instance, has been something we've been working on for literally several years now, and this has been extremely helpful in the overall cost per kilowatt hour, especially with recent commodity price movements. So, we can't really be quantitative, but that directionally is a pretty good trend.
Elon Reeve Musk - Tesla, Inc.
Yeah, we think we can get the cobalt to almost nothing.
I missed this from the shareholder letter:
Cells used in Model 3 are the highest energy density cells used in any electric vehicle. We have achieved this by significantly reducing cobalt content per battery pack while increasing nickel content and still maintaining superior thermal stability. The cobalt content of our Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminum cathode chemistry is already lower than next-generation cathodes that will be made by other cell producers with a Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt ratio of 8:1:1. As a result, even with its battery, the gross weight of Model 3 is on par with its gasoline-powered counterparts.
Cells used in Model 3 are the highest energy density cells used in any electric vehicle. We have achieved this by significantly reducing cobalt content per battery pack while increasing nickel content and still maintaining superior thermal stability. The cobalt content of our Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminum cathode chemistry is already lower than next-generation cathodes that will be made by other cell producers with a Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt ratio of 8:1:1. As a result, even with its battery, the gross weight of Model 3 is on par with its gasoline-powered counterparts.
I am a bit confused about the last line from the shareholder report that said that as a result of swapping out cobalt for nickel, they have reduced pack weight. The weight density of cobalt and nickel are essentially identical...
I said disagree, just because I wouldn't _ignore_ it. Elon Musk's statements should be taking as somewhere in the range [hyperbolic,lying).
My rule is that when Elon Musk says "will" it should be read as "will try to". Similar case here.
But yes, JB's statement is useful. Taken together with the "Supercharging won't be 350kW*" statement, it really points to Tesla's emphatic focus on driving down battery cost.
* To all those people who got excited about the "children's toys" tweet: I told you so.
On one hand you say not to ignore elon's statements, but in the next line you point out where one of his statements should have been ignored.
According to Wikipedia, in the United States goodbye was said to the Cobalt back in 2010... get with the times, Elon 
Chevrolet Cobalt - Wikipedia
Chevrolet Cobalt - Wikipedia
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This time the Wiki is 100% wrong. Chevrolet is still Cobalt-laden, however distasteful that might be for those of us who ride them as Taxis:According to Wikipedia, goodbye was said to the Cobalt back in 2010... get with the times, Elon
Chevrolet Cobalt - Wikipedia
Fotos Exterior do Chevrolet Cobalt 2018
I expect that what Tesla has learned from adjusting their chemistry is a result of the testing done by Jeff Dahn and his people.
Tesla battery researcher unveils new chemistry to increase lifecycle at high voltage
Tesla battery researcher unveils new chemistry to increase lifecycle at high voltage
