Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveils new ‘tabless’ battery cell with 500% more power; the new technology could improve driving range and revolutionize Tesla

As part of its ambitious plan to improve its electric car’s range and power, Tesla today unveiled plans to produce 46 by 80 “tabless” battery cells in a series of innovation announcements during its Battery Day event. Tesla said it will produce its new batteries in-house, which Tesla CEO Elon Musk said will help dramatically reduce costs and allow the company to eventually sell electric vehicles for the same price as gasoline-powered ones.

During the event, Tesla announced the creation of a new cell design, which the electric car maker said has a new 80-millimeter length that will give the cells five times the energy density, six times the power, and enable a 16% increase in range. “This really is a massive breakthrough,” Musk said.

“We’re starting to ramp up manufacturing of these cells at our pilot 10-gigawatt manufacturing facility just around the corner,” said Drew Baglino, the SVP of powertrain and energy engineering at Tesla.

Unlike the current battery design, the Tabless cell battery is a breakthrough. The Tables design enables a larger form factor, which improves power density, without thermal problems, says Musk. The new tabless cells are bigger than Tesla’s current cells. It measures 46 millimeters by 80 millimeters (hence the name, 4680). In addition to more energy and power, Tesla says the new tabless cells will result in a 14 percent reduction in cost per kWh at the cell form factor level only, Musk said.

The BatteryDay is not all about “tabless” cells. Tesla also used the event to discuss what the company is doing to  “drive down” the cost of electric vehicles. The most exciting part of the event was not so much about the new tabless cell technology, silicon anodes, or production innovations, it was about Tesla’s progress on sustainability and its promise to reduce waste reduction by increasing battery metal recycling.

You can watch the video of Tesla’s Battery Day event below.