However, the biggest battery maker in the world, Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited, better known as CATL, believes that going down the cylindrical cell route is a dead end. CATL’s founder and head honcho, Robin Zeng, told Tesla CEO Elon Musk this to his face. The reaction was silence.

The production curve for batteries in China continues to have only one direction: upwards! In October, electric car batteries with an energy content of 59.2 GWh were produced there. More than two thirds of this came from the two market leaders CATL and BYD.

CATL has restricted its presence in the U.S. market to battery-production licensing deals. Ford is opening a Michigan plant to build low-cost lithium-phosphate batteries under a licensing deal with CATL for its Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning pickup.

Battery giant’s chairman said he’d be open to investing in a US facility, and Trump has previously suggested he’d welcome China-backed projects

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world’s top battery maker, will consider building a US plant if president-elect Donald Trump opens the door to Chinese investment in the electric-vehicle supply chain,