Panasonic seeks battery to unlock €21,000 electric car       

Tesla has asked Panasonic to produce the 4680 battery, described by Elon Musk as a 'massive breakthrough' in cell technology that will make it possible for his company to produce electric vehicles that sell for €21,000

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk. File picture: AP/Susan Walsh

Panasonic is betting that close to a century of experience making car batteries has prepared it to manufacture a difficult-to-produce next-generation battery championed by Tesla as the key to unlocking cheaper and more ubiquitous electric vehicles.

Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, first unveiled the 4680 battery at Tesla’s Battery Day in September as a “massive breakthrough” in cell technology that will make it possible for his company to produce electric vehicles that sell for €21,000, roughly a third less than Tesla’s most basic Model 3.