Tesla ramps 40GWh 4680 battery capacity
- Tesla said on April 22, 2026 that ramping has begun across new battery and materials factories, naming LFP cell production in Nevada and cathode production plus lithium refining in Texas. - Management raised 2026 capital‑expenditure guidance to more than $25 billion and said battery‑pack capacity — not cell supply — is the current limiting factor on vehicle ramp. - The moves are documented in Tesla’s Q1 2026 investor update and earnings call and link U.S. cell lines with upstream cathode and lithium refining to secure supply chains. (assets-ir.tesla.com)
Tesla told investors on April 22, 2026 that ramping has begun at new battery and materials factories, including LFP cells in Nevada and cathode and lithium refining in Texas. (assets-ir.tesla.com) The announcement came as part of Tesla’s Q1 2026 results and earnings call on April 22, 2026, when executives presented the company’s investor update deck. (news.alphastreet.com) (assets-ir.tesla.com) Tesla’s Q1 update explicitly states “ramp has begun” across LFP cells in Nevada, cathode material production in Texas, and lithium refining in Texas. (assets-ir.tesla.com) On the same call Tesla raised full‑year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to more than $25 billion, directing spending at batteries, AI compute, Optimus humanoid robots and robotaxi infrastructure. (cnbc.com) Executives warned battery‑pack capacity — the line that assembles cells into packs — remains the bottleneck for increasing vehicle output even as cell and material lines come online. (assets-ir.tesla.com) Separately, Tesla has restarted 4680 dry‑electrode cell production at Giga Texas and has begun building some Model Y packs using its in‑house 4680 cells, a shift first reported by the company in late January 2026. (electrek.co) Industry reporting and factory footage show the Nevada LFP line was built using equipment sourced from CATL and is intended to feed Megapack and stationary storage production, with early outside estimates placing initial LFP cell capacity around 10 GWh per year. (pv-magazine-usa.com) (batterytechonline.com) Tesla’s parallel build‑out in Texas includes a lithium refining facility and a cathode materials line intended to process North American feedstock and supply in‑country cathode active material, projects referenced in the Q1 update. (assets-ir.tesla.com) (ilovetesla.com) Expect Tesla to report how quickly pack output rises in upcoming quarterly updates; the company’s >$25 billion 2026 capex plan frames those ramps as a near‑term corporate priority. (cnbc.com) (assets-ir.tesla.com)
