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.

Chinese battery supplier CATL is open to building a U.S. factory if the incoming Trump administration allows it, the company's founder said in a recent interview. "Originally, when we wanted to invest in the U.S., the U.S. government said no," Robin Zeng said in an interview with Reuters published Wednesday. "For me, I'm really open-minded."

CATL's chairman and CEO Robin Zeng has expressed willingness to build a factory in the US if President-Elect Donald Trump is willing to open the door for Chinese electric vehicle (EV) investments. This strategic shift comes as Chinese manufacturers face mounting pressure from Trump's tariffs on EV and lithium battery imports.

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,