Rumor: BYD Will Supply Tesla With Blade Batteries

It might be related to the new "cheap" Tesla model.

BYD Blade Battery

Mark Kane

By: Mark Kane

Aug 5, 2021 at 9:58am ET

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According to the latest media reports from China, BYD is expected to supply Tesla with its Blade Battery. The sources of those news are unofficial, as BYD and Tesla do not comment.

The Blade Battery is actually a marketing name for BYD's LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries in the cell-to-pack approach, in which there are no modules and the batteries improve a vehicle’s structure.

Moneyball and CnEVPost report after cls.cn that the deliveries will start in the Q2 of 2022, while the batteries are currently undergoing testing.

"Multiple insider sources: #BYD to supply Tesla with blade battery starting 22Q2, Tesla model carrying BYD #battery entered C-sample testing phase."

Well, Tesla already uses the LFP batteries in its entry-level Made-in-China Model 3 and Model Y, but those cells come from CATL. By the way, the partnership between Tesla and CATL recently expanded.

We guess that the potential use of BYD's batteries might be related to the upcoming "cheap" Tesla that could start at around $25,000. The latest rumors say that Tesla already has a prototype of it.

We would not be surprised if the company used the LFP lithium-ion battery chemistry, which is considered the most affordable. Additionally, BYD's cells offer a possibility of structural integration, a thing that Tesla pursues.

Gallery: BYD Blade Battery

BYD Blade Battery production

BYD Blade Battery BYD Blade Battery production

BYD is in a process of expansion of its battery production and transition of its entire electric car portfolio to Blade Batteries (both BEVs and PHEVs). As there are more of those cells available, they will be sold also to other manufacturers.

CnEVPost recently reported a big 10% surge of BYD shares, bringing the market capitalization to more than over 880 billion CNY ($136 billion). It might not be accidental.

What do you think?

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The company expects to sell 600,000 plug-ins this year, 820,000 in 2022 and about a million in 2023. The battery output would be 35 GWh, 51 GWh, and 70 GWh, respectively.

The average battery capacity (assuming all batteries would be used in BYD's EVs) would be then 58 kWh, 62 kWh, and 70 kWh per car.