“BYD uses Blade, Tesla uses LFP” is a distinction people draw as though the second were a different thing from the first. It is not. Blade is LFP. The cheaper Teslas are LFP too, from a different supplier in a different shape, and for a period in Germany they were BYD’s own cells.
So the question worth asking is not which chemistry is better. It is what the packaging changes, and the answer turns out to be less than either company’s marketing suggests.
At a glance#
| BYD Blade, in a Sealion 7 | CATL LFP, in a Model Y RWD | |
|---|---|---|
| Chemistry | LFP | LFP |
| Cell shape | Long prismatic, roughly 96 cm | Standard prismatic, “CATL 6M” |
| Pack integration | Cell-to-body on e-Platform 3.0 | Cell-to-pack |
| Nominal capacity | 84.0 kWh | 64.0 kWh |
| Usable capacity | 82.5 kWh | 60.0 kWh |
| DC peak | 150 kW | 175 kW |
| 10–80 % | 32 min | 24 min |
| Energy moved in that window | 57.8 kWh | 42.0 kWh |
| Average power over the window | about 108 kW | about 105 kW |
| Average C-rate on nominal capacity | about 1.37 C | about 1.72 C |
| Battery warranty | 8 years / 250,000 km, min 70 % SoH | 8 years / 160,000 km |
| Charge limit the maker advises | 100 %, weekly full | 100 %, weekly full |
Criteria#
Cell shape and what it is for#
A Blade cell is a long, thin prismatic cell laid across the pack floor and inserted directly into the housing. CATL’s cell is a conventional prismatic can. Both are trying to solve the same problem: LFP stores less energy per kilogram than a nickel cathode, so the pack has to waste less space around the cells to compete.
BYD does it by making the cell itself a structural member. CATL does it by deleting modules. The two arrive at similar places from different directions, which is why the pack-level outcome is closer than the cell-level numbers imply.
Charging: the surprising part#
The Model Y finishes a 10 to 80 % charge in 24 minutes and the Sealion 7 takes 32. Read alone, that says the Tesla charges faster. It does not.
The Tesla is quicker because it has 22.5 kWh less to fill, not because it accepts energy faster. Per kilowatt-hour of pack, the CATL cells actually work harder: about 1.72 C average against 1.37 C. Whatever advantage the Blade format has, sustained DC charging rate in these two cars is not it.
Safety claims#
BYD’s nail-penetration test is the most-quoted evidence in this whole subject, and it is BYD’s test on BYD’s samples.
The chemistry-level advantage over nickel is real and uncontroversial. The format-level advantage of Blade over another maker’s LFP rests on one company’s own testing.
Warranty#
The clearest difference in the table, and the only one where a company has money at stake. BYD covers the Blade pack in Europe for eight years or 250,000 km with a floor of 70 % state of health. Tesla covers the Model Y pack for eight years or 160,000 km. That is 90,000 km of difference in what each maker will underwrite.
The part most people get wrong#
Both makers tell you to charge to 100 % and to do it weekly. The advice is identical because the chemistry is identical. If you have been applying an 80 % ceiling to an LFP Tesla because it is a Tesla, you are following advice written for a different pack. The reasoning is in LFP vs NMC.
Once, they were the same cells#
Test conditions#
None of this is our measurement. Every capacity, power and time figure is EV Database’s, compiled from manufacturer data and its own estimates. The warranty and safety figures come from the manufacturers themselves and are labelled as such. The average powers and C-rates are our arithmetic on those inputs, shown above so anyone can redo it.
What would change the article: a measured DC curve on each car at a known temperature and state of charge. We have access to a Sealion 7 and not to a Model Y, so this stays a comparison of published figures until somebody logs both.
Per-case verdicts#
If you are choosing between these two cars on the battery alone, the deciding number is the warranty, not the technology. Same chemistry, same charging advice, near-identical sustained charge rate, 90,000 km of difference in what the maker will stand behind.
If you fast-charge often on long routes, the Tesla’s smaller pack reaches 80 % sooner and its network is better, but each stop buys less distance. Neither pack is quicker per kilowatt-hour.
If you charge at home and rarely use DC, none of this matters. Both want 100 %, both are content to sit there, and the 22.5 kWh of extra capacity in the BYD is the only figure that changes your week.
If you believe the Blade format is inherently safer than other LFP packs, note that the evidence for that specific claim, as opposed to LFP being safer than nickel, is BYD’s own test. Believe it at that weight.