Rivian and BMW are now shipping 46mm cylindrical cells in vehicles you can buy today. Almost six years after Battery Day, has Tesla been beaten by the format it invented? I went through the cell data, the EPA documents and the published charging sessions to find out. Cell-level energy density, pack-level energy density, real 10–80% charging times and charging curves, then the manufacturing process behind all of it. At the cell level Tesla’s second-gen 4680 finishes last, behind the 4695 cells from EVE, LG Energy Solution and CATL. At the pack level it does better than that. On charging it’s a different story. But there’s one place Tesla is still clearly ahead, and it might matter more than everything else on the list.
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*** All video and pictures are used with permission or in accordance with the copyright owner’s stated policies and use allowance, or applicable fair use laws. ***
Image & Video Clip Sources:
1. Tesla video clips/images used in the video courtesy of Tesla, Inc. (where noted in the video).
2. Rivian R2 video clips/images used in the video courtesy of Rivian (where noted in the video).
3. BMW video clips/images used in the video courtesy of BMW (where noted in the video).
4. LGES video clips/images used in the video courtesy of LGG Energy Solutions (where noted in the video).
5. CATL video clips/images used in the video courtesy of CATL (where noted in the video).
6. EVE Energy image used in the video courtesy of EVE Energy (where noted in the video).
Data Sources:
Cell data
Tesla 4680 Gen 1 — https://www.batterydesign.net/tesla-cybertruck-and-battery-pack/
Tesla 4680 Gen 2 — https://www.batterydesign.net/tesla-4680-cell-generation-2/
EVE 4695E characteristics sheet — https://www.ancoo-battery.com/en/product/EVE-4695E-G16-32Ah.html
LGES 4695 / Rivian R2 pack — https://www.batterydesign.net/rivian-r2-pack-2026-update/
CATL 46950 teardown (CaishenRoad, via James Ma) — https://x.com/Jamesma1109/status/1981594714714611969
Charging tests
BMW iX3 on 400 kW, 350 kW and Tesla V4 — Bjørn Nyland — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zp7eLXmaLM
Bjørn’s charging curve data — https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hpXNhRxaIM06OBIKM8R1rOvYXlHgrWNpjWmK6Ra1zZ8/edit
Rivian R2 fast charging analysis — State of Charge — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56quOgT78LY
Model Y 4680 “8L” pack investigated — The Limiting Factor — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyjpF7xPiC4
Cybertruck 10–80% Supercharging test — Branden Flasch — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igtSh7IWqzY
Model Y vs Cybertruck charging curves — Lampi di Tesla — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi_3ghfVRk4
Manufacturing
LG Energy Solution dry electrode process — https://news.lgensol.com/company-news/supplementary-stories/4168/
Dry electrode development across Tesla, CATL, Panasonic and Samsung SDI — https://en.sedaily.com/finance/2026/04/28/lg-energy-solution-targets-chinas-battery-dominance-with
NOTE: The content found in this video should NOT be regarded as financial advice. I am not a financial advisor, and this is NOT in any way a recommendation or offer to buy or sell securities. While the information in this video is believed to be accurate at the time of recording, no guarantees are being made about the accuracy of the information presented in the video. As of the recording of this video, I am NOT invested in Tesla stock or securities, nor any other company mentioned in this video.
Credit to : Cleanerwatt
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