Tesla shared the closest look yet at one of the Fremont Factory’s Giga Press machines, which produces the Model Y’s single-piece front and rear mega-castings. The short video, which was shared on the company’s official Twitter account, showcased the massive contraption up close as it casted the all-electric crossover’s underbody section.
The electric car maker noted that the Giga Press is the world’s largest die-casting machine, allowing the company to drastically reduce the number of components required to build its Model Y vehicle. Front and rear vehicle underbodies previously required over 70 parts to create, but with the Giga Press, these same sections could be built with one casting piece each.
The short video shared by the electric car maker provides a glimpse at the sheer size of the Giga Press and its moving components. Needless to say, Elon Musk was not exaggerating when he noted that the Giga Press would be about the size of a house when it’s fully installed. Reports that pointed to one Giga Press requiring about 24 flatbed trucks to transport also seem to be on point.
The advantages of the Giga Press and mega-castings its produces have been highlighted by both Elon Musk and industry veterans such as Sandy Munro, who is in the process of tearing down his third Tesla. In one of his YouTube videos, Munro noted that mega-castings should allow Tesla to improve its vehicles’ build quality. This, in turn, should help address Tesla’s challenges with its build consistency, an issue that Elon Musk acknowledged in an interview with the auto veteran.
The Giga Press is a central part of Tesla’s transition into a mainstream automaker. With the machines in place, the company could produce its vehicles in a cost-effective, efficient manner, all while ensuring that its quality is as consistent as possible. This may be one of the reasons why Tesla decided to install the Giga Press in its upcoming factories. Several of the machines have been spotted in Giga Shanghai, eight are expected to be built in Giga Berlin, and more will be built in Giga Texas.
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