IDRA Showed a Video of the 9,000-Ton Die-Casting Machine Installed at Giga Texas

There were many speculations regarding the Cybertruck production delays, but all the pieces finally appeared to fall into place. With the 4680-cell production ramping up, Giga Texas was just one step away from starting Cybertruck production. That last step was installing a die-cast machine big enough to press the Cybertruck body. It wasn’t easy, but things are now almost complete.

When Tesla pressed for Cybertruck production, IDRA, the traditional supplier of Giga Presses for Tesla gigafactories, was still struggling with the enormous die-casting machine. This summer, rumors had it that Tesla was ditching IDRA in favor of Bühler because of a high-reject rate at Giga Berlin. IDRA has apparently solved its problems, and Tesla has kept it as the supplier of the 9,000-ton Giga Presses needed for Cybertruck production.

In a video posted on its YouTube channel, IDRA boasted about being “the first company to receive production orders for 9,000-ton machines that can be used for SUV and small truck markets.” The video itself does not say much, showing the final assembly process of the 9,000-ton machine. If you recall, Tesla posted a similar video in June when it completed the building of its first such machine. What’s different this time is the little detail that the Giga Press is now installed at Giga Texas.

According to several replies to the video, the machine arrived in Texas a week ago, and the video actually shows how it is assembled and tested in Austin. Reports indicate that Giga Texas would have two such machines working side by side, and this is the first of them. It makes sense, considering that Tesla would die-cast several Cybertruck body parts and would probably need more die-casting machines for the job.

It is speculated that the Cybertruck would comprise three large stamped parts: the rear section, the front section, and the bed. If we’re to take it from the Model Y production, die-casting these parts will eliminate the need to weld hundreds of different elements. This helps lower the weight and provides for a stiffer structure, not to mention the benefit of speeding up the assembly process.