Musk may have a reputation for making unfulfilled promises, but Tesla has managed to meet its Chinese-assembled LFP battery-powered electric vehicle schedule by the end of this year. These batteries do not contain cobalt and therefore should be cheaper than the so-called NMC batteries. The Chinese company CATL is supplying LFP batteries for Chinese-assembled cars, and in general, Tesla intends to bring the degree of localization of Model 3 electric vehicles assembled here to 80%.

Tesla partners in the person of Panasonic have already expressed concerns about the low capacity of LFP-type traction batteries, but Elon Musk said at a quarterly conference that the Model 3 electric car based on them is capable of traveling up to 480 km without recharging. Another disadvantage of the new batteries is their higher weight – the electric vehicle equipped with them turns out to be 130 kg heavier than the analog with NMC batteries.

Tesla’s Shanghai facility actually began shipping Model 3 electric vehicles with LFP batteries today, Reuters reports. The cost of the standard range modification for Chinese consumers dropped by 8% to 249,900 yuan or $ 36,805 at the current exchange rate. The price includes a government subsidy for Chinese citizens to purchase an electric vehicle. The cost of cars assembled in China with an increased power reserve dropped from 344,050 to 309,900 yuan, which corresponds to $ 46,639. Musk previously said that Tesla could start exporting electric vehicles assembled in China by the end of this year. This will surely allow LFP battery versions to penetrate outside the Chinese market.