Photo: Warren Redlich - Come and Take It - Molon TSLA via Twitter
Tesla’s 15,000-person event called Giga Texas Cyber Rodeo marked the beginning of a new era for the EV maker. Among the products that Tesla showed off during the event is the Model Y Standard Range All-Wheel Drive with the new 4680 structural battery that is being built in Austin.
Giga Berlin may have been the hardest to complete, but Giga Texas stole the limelight for the most advanced gigafactory to date. Unlike other gigafactories where the production started with the top-tier variant of the vehicles in production, it appears that Giga Texas will take a different approach. Indeed, while Giga Berlin is currently building the Model Y Performance, Tesla will build the base version Standard Range of the Model Y, albeit as an all-wheel-drive version.
The big news here is that the 4680 cells, structural batteries, and mega casting are all included in the Texas-made Model Y, a world first. For the first time, the 4680 structural batteries are deemed production-ready, and Tesla says they are produced in high volumes at Giga Texas.
“Made at Gigafactory Texas, our new tabless 4680 cell lowers the cost per kilowatt-hour. We have everything we need under one roof to produce and assemble the first high-volume structural battery pack, using our fully integrated process,” stated one of the infographics on the factory floor seen during the Cyber Rodeo factory tour.
The first cutaway installation of the new Model Y variant with a 4680 structural battery reveals some differences compared to previous images. For instance, the cooling lines inside the battery pack run longitudinally as opposed to transversally in the prototype packs. This suggests that internal testing has led to improvements in the design since the structural battery was first introduced as a concept.
The structural battery pack allows for reducing the number of parts used in the battery pack and in the car itself. Together with the mega castings used for the front and rear parts of the chassis, this makes for an incredibly simple platform. Tesla touts the new production process allowing for cutting in half the size of the manufacturing line that assembles the battery packs and the chassis.
The new Tesla Model Y Standard Range All-Wheel Drive (SR AWD) has visited the EPA before, so we already know it has an EPA Combined range of 279 miles (449 km). The Cyber Rodeo is the first time we had the chance to see the actual car. It was suggested that Tesla chose the base version of the Model Y as their first product at the Austin gigafactory because it has a lower battery capacity. This copes well with the constraints in ramping up 4680 cells production, allowing for more Model Ys to be built with the same number of cells.
The big news here is that the 4680 cells, structural batteries, and mega casting are all included in the Texas-made Model Y, a world first. For the first time, the 4680 structural batteries are deemed production-ready, and Tesla says they are produced in high volumes at Giga Texas.
“Made at Gigafactory Texas, our new tabless 4680 cell lowers the cost per kilowatt-hour. We have everything we need under one roof to produce and assemble the first high-volume structural battery pack, using our fully integrated process,” stated one of the infographics on the factory floor seen during the Cyber Rodeo factory tour.
The first cutaway installation of the new Model Y variant with a 4680 structural battery reveals some differences compared to previous images. For instance, the cooling lines inside the battery pack run longitudinally as opposed to transversally in the prototype packs. This suggests that internal testing has led to improvements in the design since the structural battery was first introduced as a concept.
The structural battery pack allows for reducing the number of parts used in the battery pack and in the car itself. Together with the mega castings used for the front and rear parts of the chassis, this makes for an incredibly simple platform. Tesla touts the new production process allowing for cutting in half the size of the manufacturing line that assembles the battery packs and the chassis.
The new Tesla Model Y Standard Range All-Wheel Drive (SR AWD) has visited the EPA before, so we already know it has an EPA Combined range of 279 miles (449 km). The Cyber Rodeo is the first time we had the chance to see the actual car. It was suggested that Tesla chose the base version of the Model Y as their first product at the Austin gigafactory because it has a lower battery capacity. This copes well with the constraints in ramping up 4680 cells production, allowing for more Model Ys to be built with the same number of cells.
Structural pack with 4680 cells!!! pic.twitter.com/Gv9QomLY9a
— Whole Mars Catalog (@WholeMarsBlog) April 7, 2022
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