The next generation of Tesla vehicles, such as the Cybertruck, Model Y and the upcoming Model S Plaid, will likely be built with a structural battery pack. Teslarati, a California-based multi-platform media company with focus on Tesla, SpaceX, and ventures affiliated with Elon Musk, recently reported that Tesla’s integrated battery system is expected to significantly improve the mass and range of its vehicles.
While developing its next-gen batteries, Tesla looked beyond cost reduction and range improvements. Safety was one of the primary focus areas for Tesla with its structural battery packs.
The recently published patent also outlined how parts of the integrated energy system are designed to allow gasses to escape from the battery in the event that a cell becomes damaged.
Essentially, Tesla is building the entire battery pack as the structural platform of the vehicle. The battery cells in this structure help solidify the platform as one big unit. This would help Tesla move away from the module strategy for batteries.
The Teslarati report highlighted that the company looked at how the structural battery packs could help maintain–if not improve–its vehicles’ safety. This was hinted at in the patent’s detailed description, which reveals that the bottom layer of the structural battery would be created from a strong, stiff material that is also capable of deforming in the event of a crash.
It has been fairly established that Tesla’s EVs feature generous crumple zones that help absorb the impact in a collision. If Tesla’s structural batteries really make its cars more structurally sound, then the company could further establish itself as the maker of the safest cars on the road, claimed the Teslarati report.
Earlier, during Tesla’s Battery Day in 2020, founder Elon Musk had reportedly explained that the use of structural batteries on electric cars could be compared to how passenger aircraft eventually used their wings to store fuel.
Inspired by this aerospace innovation, Tesla decided to build a battery pack that acts as a body structure, linking the front and rear underbody parts.
It was reported earlier that Tesla would be using its expertise in giant casting parts to connect a big single-piece rear and front underbody to this structural battery pack. Overall, this design helps in reduction of the number of parts, total mass of the battery pack, enabling improve efficiency and range of Tesla’s EVs.