--- title: "Toyota Put This Fascinating Photo in a Press Release About Electric Vehicles" description: "Announcing a solid-state battery partnership, Toyota displayed the sand-like electrolyte in a glass vessel that looks like a butt plug. " date: "2023-10-17" modified: "2023-10-17" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/toyota-solid-state-butt-plug" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Electric Vehicles" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "sex toys" - "solid-state batteries" - "the digest" - "toyota" --- # Toyota Put This Fascinating Photo in a Press Release About Electric Vehicles ![Announcing a solid-state battery partnership, Toyota displayed the sand-like electrolyte in a glass vessel that looks like a butt plug. ]() *\Image: Toyota\* ## Bases Flared When announcing a solid-state battery partnership, Toyota displayed the sand-like electrolyte substance in a glass vessel that looks — apologies in advance — exactly like a butt plug. As [noticed by the sharp-eyed automotive aficionados at *Jalopnik*](), there was only a single, unexplained photo of the flared-base glass container in the [press release](), which is otherwise unremarkable save for its promise that by the year 2027, Toyota says it'll market next-generation batteries that'll allow its electric vehicles (EVs) to travel a whopping 900 miles on a single charge. The material inside the curiously shaped container is a solid-state electrolyte, a key component of solid-state batteries, which unlike the [liquid electrolyte commonly used in the lithium-ion batteries]() found in most EVs, does not require any flammable liquids to operate. For years now, carmakers like Toyota and Volkswagen have partnered with [battery manufacturers like QuantumScape]() in [efforts to replace]() lithium-ion batteries, which have a [tendency to explode]() when overheated and require more time to charge than their solid-state counterparts. While inarguably superior on the charging and safety front, however, making solid-state batteries a viable alternative to lithium-ion has been slow going, not least because, as the European Union's [Transportation and Environment agency pointed out]() last year, solid-state batteries will likely require up to 35 percent *more* lithium than lithium-ion batteries. With [lithium prices]() already through the roof and a [global shortage looming](), something's going to need to lubricate the market before the new tech can penetrate. ## Plug It In That massive downside, of course, wasn't mentioned in the press release announcing Toyota's partnership with the Idemitsu Kosan oil company. And as *Jalopnik* aptly mused, it's awfully strange that no one at either company was able to spot the butt plug-shaped gaffe. Interestingly enough, a quick reverse image search revealed that such, er, conical containers seem to be pretty common when storing powdery chemical compounds like the solid-state secret sauce used in Toyota's electrolyte — [especially]() in [Japan](), where both Toyota and Idemitsu Kosan are based. ![]() *Chemical compounds displayed inside curiously shaped containers, as produced by the Toray chemical company. Image via Toray Industries/screenshot.* Going down the rabbit hole a bit more, we discovered — [with the help of Reddit]() — that these containers are called "pear-shaped flasks" or "seed bottles," which are indeed often seen on e-commerce websites out of China and Japan. With that context, it seems like the butt plug of it all may only have occurred to Americans — or perhaps, if we're in the business of conjecture, that the conical flared-based [butt plugs]() that are mass-produced today may have been based on these scientific vessels? The resemblance, at least, is uncanny. **More on sex toys:** *[Internet-Connected Chastity Cage Reportedly Leaks Detailed Private Info About Users]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()