Tesla is nearing a pivotal moment in its journey and the automotive industry. According to a detailed report by Reuters, the company is on the brink of a groundbreaking manufacturing evolution, set to revolutionize the production of its next vehicle and set a new standard for the future of vehicle creation.
Drawing on insider knowledge from five anonymous sources, the report sheds light on Tesla's innovative gigacasting process, poised to redefine the manufacturing landscape and help Elon Musk realize his ambition of halving production costs. A decision on this significant shift could be made later this month.
A Single-Frame Approach
The key to this disruption lies in Tesla's commitment to unboxed manufacturing - a strategy introduced by Musk in March. At its core, this strategy focuses on the die-casting of nearly the entire complex underbody of an EV in one singular piece, reducing the traditional assembly of around 400 parts in a conventional car to a singular entity.
Tesla has used technology in several areas of its operation, notably a recent single-piece front casting for the Model Y that resulted in 169 fewer pieces and 1,600 fewer welds.
Tesla's unboxed strategy could roll out soon, drastically cutting production time and costs. According to Reuters, Tesla's forthcoming $25,000 car presents the perfect canvas for this one-piece casting revolution, bearing a simpler underbody resembling "a battery tray with small wings."
The Material Difference
To bring this vision to life, Tesla's global team, based across the UK, Germany, Japan, and the US, has leveraged 3D printing and industrial sand. Utilizing binder jets, which construct molds layer by layer through the deposition of a liquid binding agent on a sand layer, the team can quickly create and adapt prototype molds. This process significantly cuts the traditional costs associated with metal prototype creation, paving the way for rapid iteration at just 3% of the usual expenditure.
Beyond molding, Tesla has also been developing special alloys to overcome challenges in crashworthiness and other attributes associated with the different behaviors of these materials in sand and metal molds. These alloys, aligned with a fine-tuned molten alloy cooling process and post-production heat treatments, have potentially set the stage for a large-scale manufacturing revolution.
Tesla is deliberating on the exact nature of the die-casting process - whether embracing high-pressure techniques for speed or opt for slow alloy injection to ensure quality and versatility. The choice between these methods implicates not only the complexity of the car frame but also dictates the need for potentially more significant factory buildings and Giga Presses boasting a staggering clamping power of over 16,000 tons.
Strategic Shift to Giga Texas
This aligns with recent insights from Walter Isaacson's biography of Elon Musk, illustrating a strategic shift in Tesla's operations. Initially slated for Mexico, the production hub for the next-generation EV platform will now reside in Giga Texas. This will allow Musk to keep a closer eye on the development, design engineers and the manufacturing hub to facilitate immediate feedback and streamline processes. The book also said that Giga Mexico would still play a significant role, but now it seems it would be where the new technology would be housed after being perfected in Texas.
As the clock ticks down to Tesla's final decision, one thing remains clear: a potential transformative moment in EV manufacturing is on the horizon, promising a future where Tesla's EVs are more affordable, attainable, and revolutionary than ever before. It is not just a step but a gigantic leap toward the future of automotive manufacturing that only a visionary like Musk could envision and endeavor to achieve.
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Rendering of what Tesla's license plate feature could look like
Not a Tesla App
Tesla update 2024.38 has started rolling out to several regions and vehicles. Thanks to Tesla hacker Greentheonly, we have a behind-the-scenes look at some new features coming to Teslas.
License Plate Display
According to Greentheonly, it looks like Tesla may soon let you display your actual license plate in the vehicle’s visualization on the screen. In our article, The Most Request Tesla Features, several readers suggested displaying the vehicle’s license plate in the visualization instead of a blank, white plate.
It looks like Tesla will be doing just that, at least in China. Green found references that appear to conclude that you’ll be able to display your vehicle’s plate on screen. This will likely be user input, so you could have it say anything you’d like, and it doesn’t have to be your actual license plate.
For many owners, who may find it difficult to remember their license plate, this could serve a practical purpose in addition to adding to the visualization's realism.
While Green was only able to say it’ll be available in China, we expect this is due to China’s software development team working on it and that it’ll eventually be released worldwide.
While code for this feature was found in update 2024.38, we may not be turned on in China yet. We suspect this feature may be a strong candidate for Tesla’s upcoming holiday update.
FSD Hardware Version Display
As part of the 2024.38 update, Tesla has now made it easy to determine whether your vehicle includes Hardware 3 or Hardware 4. You can now simply navigate to Controls > Software and tap Additional Vehicle Information. In addition to other hardware information about your vehicle, your Autopilot hardware version will now be listed as well.
You can see whether your vehicle has HW2.5, HW3, or AI4. This in-car display is useful, but if you don’t have access to the vehicle, you can always use our guide on how to determine the hardware version of a Tesla.
New Battery Health Test & Service Mode Improvements
Green found some additional things as well. There’s a new and improved Battery Health Test. The new test will show you how your car scores compared to similar vehicles in the Tesla fleet.
In addition, maintenance records can now be permanently stored “in the car.” It doesn’t appear that this feature is activated yet, but it’s likely in active development with some parts leaking out in the 2024.38 update.
Tesla has included various Service Mode improvements and new visualizations in this update.
Mr Li on X came across some covered-up Project Juniper vehicles recently and he managed to get various shots of the vehicle.
Juniper Images
This front image reveals what looks like two rows of lights, possibly confirming the front light bar for the Model Y refresh — similar to the one on the Cybercab.
The rear side has a lot of lights on it!
Mr Li on X
The rear side shows a ton of brake lights, but it’s not clear why. While it looks like the Model Y refresh will also feature a rear light bar similar to the Cybertruck, there isn’t strong evidence of that in this photo.
Mr Li on X
There's an obvious set of lights at the bottom, so it looks like the Model Y refresh will be similar to the new Model 3 where the bottom lights can operate as brake lights when the one-piece tail lights and trunk are up.
Mr Li on X
In the last photo, we see that the overall form factor of the refreshed Model Y will remain unchanged, and Tesla is focusing the changes on the front and rear ends of the vehicle, much like the Model 3 refresh. However, in this one shot, we can also see what appears to be red light leaking out of the rear camera cover opening, possibly due to the rear light bar.
The Model Y is not only Tesla’s best-selling vehicle but also the world’s best-selling car in 2023. This year, it’s expected to be the best-selling vehicle in the United States and again in the world, so this refresh will be huge for Tesla.
@DominicBRNKMN made another fantastic set of concepts based on these new images. Given he had the most accurate Model 3 Highland concept before the official launch, we’re pretty sure his latest work be close here as well.
@DominicBRNKMN
We’re super excited to see the eventual reveal of Project Juniper, which is expected in the first half of 2025. However, expect to see a few more leaks before production kicks off at Giga Shanghai.
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