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Donut Lab's miracle battery found to be a fraud, investigation claims
(interestingengineering.com)
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this post was submitted on 09 Jun 2026
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Technically, they have a very short distance to climb if they wanted to: just give the battery (or preferably multiple batteries) to an independent 3rd party to test to their hearts content. If they aren’t full of shit, that’d clear things up in an instant. If someone can show their claims are true, that’s all they need.
If they are completely full of shit, then there’s no no way out of the hole. I think this is unlikely given the carefully selected tests they’ve already released— they have… something. It likely isn’t an entirely non-existent product appearing only on paper.
If they are only partially full of shit, in that they have a battery that is decent or better than current batteries but not totally fulfilling their claims, then it’s a moderate hole to climb out of. Some egg on the face, but survivable.
If they are substantially full of shit, with batteries that are equivalent or worse than current batteries, then they’re gonna be laughed out of the market real fast. Probably mentioned in the same breath as Peter Molyneux, for similar reasons.
Yes, if they supplied batteries to independent testers, that would quickly prove their technically claims are true or false.
But the hole they've dug isn't just about technical claims. As I said, they've relied on dodgy marketing tactics which has caused industry damage, and that wouldn't just disappear. They'd still have huge business reputation issues regarding things like trust for starters. Businesses are far more than just their technology. Plenty of great tech has failed due to other factors and execution.
I hold that If their claims were true, any sketchy marketing would be forgiven very, very quickly.
Battery chemistry patents are notoriously easy to "design around" to create variations. Who is going to want to risk working with a company that has a track record of being notoriously dodgy, especially when there's a couple of dozen well established major players that have solid reputations and scale.