[rconti]

Yeah, this really strikes me as a forest for the trees kind of situation. Sometimes it pays to engineer things to death, other times you need to step back and see the whole picture; how important is packaging for efficiency vs cooling vs manufacturing speed, etc.

Automakers putting battery packs in the trunk of their cars are complaining about battery size.

Is anyone complaining the floor on a Tesla is too thick and compromises interior space? Of course not.

The packaging probably DOES add a not-insignificant amount to the total weight of the pack vs an ideal battery of some custom design. But again, you have to weigh (ha!) all of the factors.