Source: Tesla
Tesla’s next production vehicle, the polarising Cybertruck, is approaching the start of its production. This comes after the latest drone footage from Tesla’s Texas Gigafactory reveals the gigantic machine to build the Cybertruck being delivered in pieces.
The Cybertruck body will be put together with a large casting machine known as the Giga Press. Specifically, it’s the 9,000 Tonne Giga Press made by IDRA Group.
Now drone footage on YouTube from a Texas-based drone operator and factory build enthusiast, Joe Tegtmeyer, shows this machine being delivered to the casting area of the plant.
For some context, the Tesla Model Y rear body casting uses a 6,000 Tonne Giga Press. That’s part of the manufacturing innovation that has helped Tesla have some of the highest gross margin in the automotive industry.
Elon Must has previously explained why the Cybertruck will need something bigger than 6,000 Tonne over an interview with Teslarati.
“We’re actually going to be using even bigger casting machines for the rear body of the Cybertruck because it’s a bigger vehicle and you’ve got a long truck bed that’s going to support a lot of load. So we’ll be using an 8,000-ton casting press for the rear body casting as opposed to the 6,000-ton for the Model Y”
The assembly process at Tesla’s Texas plant with all the pieces will take a couple of months.
Having seen recent job postings at Tesla for the manufacturing Cybertruck, it’s starting to come together for quite an exciting 2023 with Tesla launching one of it’s most highly anticipated products.
This is one of the most exciting products, especially in the US market. With a towing capacity of up to 6.35 Tonne, the Cybertruck most certainly puts the famous “electric vehicles can’t tow” myth to bed.
Expected first builds of the Cybertruck at this stage are likely to be in the second half of 2023. Like many of Tesla’s other product deliveries, we are likely to see a delivery event after production has commenced.
Video from the Giga Press assembly and testing by IDRA Group:
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.
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