Tesla is showing signs of getting closer to production at Gigafactory Texas, as a Model Y body has been spotted at the new factory.
The start of production at Gigafactory Texas and Gigafactory Berlin is the most important thing for Tesla’s growth this year.
Starting production in any vehicle program is always difficult, and even more so when you are building a brand new factory from scratch.
But Tesla has done it before, and it’s looking to do it again with two new factories coming up almost simultaneously.
Gigafactory Texas is going to first produce an updated version of the Model Y for the North American market.
The new version is expected to use Tesla’s latest “megacasting” technology that replaces a lot of body parts with single giant cast parts produced using the world’s largest casting machines.
Last month, we reported on Tesla producing its first Model Y megacast at Gigafactory Texas after installing the first machines.
It was the first sign of Tesla getting much closer to production at the new factory, which is still very much under construction, but Tesla has been known to not let that stop it.
Now a new drone flyover spotted what looks like an almost completed Model Y body, which is another sign that the automaker is getting closer to production.
Here’s the new Tesla Gigafactory Texas drone flyover filmed yesterday by Joe Tegtmeyer:
The video shows a lot of progress in building the giant new structure, which looks about half completed, but production is expected to start before the entire structure is completed, since a single section is as big as some other car factories.
It also caught Tesla storing a Model Y body:
Tesla has also been ramping up listing production jobs at the factory, which is also a good sign that the automaker is getting closer to production.
The automaker is officially guiding the start of Model Y production at the factory “by the end of the year.”
However, the actual start of production is not as important as the speed of the ramp-up, which isn’t likely to be significant until early next year.
Electrek’s Take
We know for sure that the new Model Y produced at Gigafactory Texas is going to feature more megacast parts, but it’s not clear if it will be powered by the new 4680 cells and structural battery pack.
That would be a big deal.
It’s also interesting to see who can bring the Model Y to production first, the Berlin team or the Austin team, and while the internal competition is fun, they can also benefit from what they learn from each new production site.
It’s a really interesting time for Tesla, and the timing of new production capacity coming up at Gigafactory Texas couldn’t be better with the new EV incentives coming to the US.
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Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
