Tesla may not use solid-state batteries as suppliers Panasonic and CATL peg them years away or only suitable for drones

There won't be a Tesla with solid-state battery in the foreseeable future, it seems, as two if its cell suppliers have now scoffed at the viability of the technology for electric cars.

According to Tesla's main supplier Panasonic, solid-state batteries are only suitable for drones or small work tools like power drills, rather than big and pricey battery packs of the type found in electric cars.

Panasonic's Chief Technology Officer Tatsuo Ogawa expressed his doubts in a meeting with the company's R&D team in Osaka. The solid-state batteries are a "niche" product, he remarked, and won't be the gamechanger that the industry hype makes them out to be.

Solid-state cells are safer and offer much higher, up to 500 Wh/kg energy density when compared to the current ternary lithium batteries in electric cars. They theoretically allow double the range on a charge while housed in the same footprint as current EV battery packs.

The solid electrolyte they utilize, however, is very expensive to manufacture, so Toyota, which was the first big automaker to bet on solid-state batteries, only expects to use them in premium electric vehicles under the Lexus brand.

Another Tesla battery supplier, CATL, is also rather reserved when talking about solid-state batteries. It has been extensively researching the technology for the past decade, and even has prototypes set for pilot production, but cautions that mass adoption of the pricey solid-state technology may still be years away.

CATL previously pegged 2030 as the year when the first mass produced electric cars with solid-state batteries may hit the market. It has revised that forecast down somewhat and is now ready to compete with the likes of Toyota and Samsung that have set a 2027 deadline for the first vehicles with solid-state cells.

Still, even transitional technologies like the current batteries with semi-solid electrolyte that NIO and other EV makers use are prohibitevly expensive. According to NIO, its 150 kWh semi-solid battery pack may propel its ET9 sedan for more than 600 miles on a charge, but costs as much as one of its smaller cars, so NIO is now merely renting it out on longer summer trips.

A true solid-state battery pack would cost even more than the current transitional batteires with 5% liquid electrolyte, so Tesla, which is now focused on keeping its costs in check, may not be putting one in its vehicles any time soon.