Panasonic presents first battery to Tesla
The Suminoe factory will start producing 3.1Ah battery cells, the highest energy density cells available in the market. The facility will produce more than 300 million cells per year.
These cuttingedge Panasonic batteries will combine with Teslas battery pack technology to produce the highestenergy density EV battery packs in the world, says Straubel.
Tesla also announced that for the first time Tesla Roadsters will be delivered to select customers in Japan.
Tesla has already delivered more than 1,000 Roadsters to customers in North America and Europe. Tesla battery packs power the Roadster, the only highwaycapable EV currently in mass production, the company states.
Tesla is also in production of battery packs for the Daimler Smart EVs and in battery development programs with other vehicle and stationary customers. For next generation battery packs, Tesla and Panasonic continue to deepen their relationship to optimize EV cells initially announced in January.
Related News

Electricity and water do mix: How electric ships are clearing the air on the B.C. coast
TORONTO - The river is running strong and currents are swirling as the 150-metre-long Seaspan Reliant slides gently into place against its steel loading ramp on the shores of B.C.'s silty Fraser River.
The crew hustles to tie up the ship, and then begins offloading dozens of transport trucks that have been brought over from Vancouver Island.
While it looks like many vessels working the B.C. coast, below decks, the ship is very different. The Reliant is a hybrid, partly powered by electricity, the seagoing equivalent of a Toyota Prius.
Down below decks, Sean Puchalski walks past a whirring internal…