Tesla has reportedly received approval already for new Model Y units including BYD’s blade batteries, just as the hardware has started being delivered to the automaker’s Brandenburg factory.
According to leaked documents shared on Thursday by Tesla Mag, Tesla’s Giga Berlin already has approval from the European Union (EU) to sell Model Y units with 4680 battery cells on the continent.
The approval was issued by Dutch authorities RDW on July 1, referring to the Model Y as “Type 005,” and internally as electric vehicle (EV) variant Y7CR.
The Tesla Model Y with BYD’s blade batteries has a rough total capacity of about 55 kilowatt-hours, offering a range of about 440 kilometers (~273 miles), less than a Long Range Model Y from Giga Berlin.
This BYD battery pack at 55 kWh sounds like a Giga Texas Model Y Standard Range with its EPA-estimated 279 miles of range.
China’s BYD to Supply Tesla with Batteries ‘Very Soon’, Says Exec https://t.co/NrSnPxGUU7
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) June 8, 2022
The EU classifies the BYD blade battery as another “structural pack,” since it forms part of the vehicle’s lower supporting structure. While the blade battery offers less total power than other Tesla models, with the smallest Model 3 even featuring 60 kWh and 455 km (~282 miles) of range.
Still, the blade battery is considered more efficient, dropping the vehicle’s weight down by 66 kilograms (~146 lbs), and its combined consumption cycle to about 155 watt-hours per kilometer.
Battery constraints have prevented Tesla from launching new products, Elon Musk has said in the past. Currently, Giga Berlin is using 2170 battery cells for the Model Y, while only Giga Texas is using its 4680 structural pack for the latter .
Tesla closed a deal with BYD over batteries in February, expected to help the automaker produce around 204,000 EV units per year.
