Hyperdrive

CATL Working With Tesla on Fast-Charging Cells, Supplying Nevada

  • Zeng said CATL plans to train Ford engineers at China plant
  • Client trust that transcends political disturbances key: Zeng
WATCH: CATL is working on faster-charging batteries for Tesla. Craig Trudell reports.Source: Bloomberg

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. is working on faster charging batteries for Tesla Inc. as Elon Musk’s automaker seeks to defend its market share and roll out an electric car for under $25,000.

“There’s always room for cost reduction depending on what the $25,000 car’s aim is,” Robin Zeng, the billionaire chairman of the world’s biggest battery maker, said in a wide-ranging interview with Bloomberg News in Hong Kong on Monday. “If it’s for robotaxis, we don’t have to worry about the cost reduction for each cell as our batteries have a longer life cycle and so their average cost is actually lower.”