Ah yes, most companies just buy batteries from Panasonic and shove them in their cars, but the galaxy brains at Tesla instead buy batteries from Panasonic and shove them into “custom modules” which is clearly materially different.
Just to start, as of today Tesla is Panasonic's only automotive client. Panasonic talked recently about the need to get more auto clients for their cells but so far it's been just talk.
As to your dismissive "galaxy brains at Tesla": unlike Ford or GM or Toyota, Tesla does a lot of R&D in battery cells.
I did similar searches in the past so I know that they've been hiring for cell research for years.
For contrast, despite GM claiming they make Ultium batteries, few months back I didn't find a single job post for cell engineering.
I also know that because Tesla has been sponsoring Canadian cell research lab led by Jeff Dahn.
This resulted in multiple patents awarded to Tesla.
Tesla also bought Grohman Engineering (which makes, among other things, robots that assemble battery packs), Maxwell (for their dry electrode technology) and a Canadian manufacturer of equipment for making battery cells.
Musk also talked how they work with every company that claims they have an improved cell technology and how they evaluate their cells.
There is no evidence that Ford or GM or Toyota made similar investments in batter cell and battery pack R&D and production.
Get a grip, Tesla fan. Your shares are doing fine without the reality distortion. People who buy cells from Panasonic directly are getting the exact same chemistry and form factor with which Telsa cars are equipped. Quoting from Tesla's own 10-Q filing, emphasis added.
"""Under our arrangement with Panasonic, we plan to purchase the full output from their production equipment at negotiated prices … Currently, we rely on suppliers such as Panasonic for these cells."""
Seriously, there is no shame in it. They are good batteries! They are made by Panasonic using Panasonic chemistry on Panasonic equipment, though.
The patent and the chemistry you are trying to link to — by the way, Scribd is a scam, here is a link to the PDF[1] — is university research funded in part by Tesla.
