What’s next? BMW builds “Tesla Stores” and Audi wants to use the 18650 cells like Tesla for years in Model S! As a night, an “Audi Gigacharger” charging grid comes with 4 years delay… Quote: The Audi R8 e-tron, Like The Tesla Model S, Uses 18650 Battery Cells Did Audi make use of Tesla的s open-source patents in designing the R8 e-tron? We doubt it, but there is one similarity between the R8 e-tron and Tesla Model S that is impossible to ignore. The R8 e-tron, like the Model S, make use of 18650 cells. In the R8 e-tron, the cell count is 7,488. Those cells are placed in 52 separate modules. Total kWh listed for the battery pack is 91. The cells operate at 3.6 amperes Over in the Tesla Model S 85 kWh you-ll find 7,104 18650 cells. These cells are believed to operate at 3.4 amperes. So, ever-so slightly different than. Perhaps this similarity could lead us to include that if you-re going to build a high-performance, long-range electric car, then the 18650 ce ll is the way to go? Or, could it be that Tesla did share some of its battery ideas with Audi in developing the R8 e-tron? Remember, the R8 e-tron was cancelled back in the day due to Audi only being able to cram 46.6 kWh of battery into the car and the automaker being compromised with its total range. We wonder then, did Tesla provide a solution to Audi, either directly (through discussions) or indirectly (Audi checked out the Model S and found a solution for the R8), or is this all merely a co Incidence?