Tesla has showcased what makes its factories some of the most advanced EV manufacturing hubs in the world, and the most profitable.
In a series of videos shared on its Twitter page, Tesla gives a behind the scene glimpse of manufacturing at its Berlin Gigafactory. Ā It’s significant, because Tesla has completely re-thought the way cars are made, enabling it to deliver the biggest margins in the auto world, and paving the way for low cost EVs in the future.
The tweet is titled āGiga Berlin is the machine that builds the machineā:
Giga Berlin is the machine that builds the machine š¦¾
— Tesla (@Tesla) February 13, 2023
The five videos run through the casting of the underbody parts of the Tesla Model Y, all the way to the final assembly of the vehicle.
The casting section of the plant has an IDRA 7,300 Tonne Gigacasting machine that is able to produce 13 different underbody parts at the same time.Ā
13 different body parts are stamped with a total of 7300 tons of force, in a press line that runs at up to 16 parts per minute pic.twitter.com/gSAynANrAx
— Tesla (@Tesla) February 13, 2023
Similar larger Gigacasting machines will be used for the production of Cybertruck. IDRA recently delivered a 9,000 Tonne machine to Tesla GigaTexas to do just that.
Another video then showcases the single large-part casting process where a single finished aluminium alloy part for the Tesla Model Y comes out.
Rear chassis underbody pieces are cast in single pieces using a custom aluminum alloy, replacing 70+ metal parts pic.twitter.com/Ka0OnHEW1X
— Tesla (@Tesla) February 13, 2023
From there, the body shop where many of the parts are welded by hundreds of robots and the final body is lifted by one of the largest robotic arms in the world.
The fully automated paint shop shows the advancements Tesla has made in painting its cars as well as its production methods.Ā
Giga Berlin is home to our most advanced paint system yet, enabling multi-layer painting for depth, dimension & a hand-painted look pic.twitter.com/W4mCZWfF7D
— Tesla (@Tesla) February 13, 2023
Itās the same paint shop that is producing the very stunning Quick Silver and Cherry Red. These were showcased late last year all around Europe on German-made Tesla Model Ys.
Tesla Model Y
Quicksilver pic.twitter.com/9KP7li3INL— All Things Tesla (@AllThingsTSLA) November 12, 2022
Tesla then showcases the area of final assembly a glimpse of whatās involved to finalise each Model Y that is produced at the Berlin plant.
Finally, the vehicle moves to General Assembly, where seats, HVAC, power electronics, drive units & more are installed, using 20+ automated stations.
This is our biggest shop by headcountāon any given shift, 1k+ people are helping build Model Y pic.twitter.com/IgSrCpH5DR
— Tesla (@Tesla) February 13, 2023
The Berlin factory opened early last year which was at the same time as Covid restrictions were ramping up at its Shanghai plant which supplies EVs to Australia.Ā
This factory currently produces the Tesla Model Y in left-hand-drive configuration for German and other European countries.Ā
It has a production capacity of 250,000 EVs per year. It is currently producing approximately 3,000 EVs per week to reach a production target of around 5,000 EVs per week.
The Driven’s take: As a mechanical engineer, it is great to see some of the advancements in manufacturing technologies that Tesla is making to produce the safest, most efficient and technologically advanced EVs.
With EV production methods improving, itās only a matter of time before more affordable EVs from brands like Tesla will be hitting our roads, making electric mobility accessible to millions more around the world.
RizĀ 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.