Munro Checks Out the Made-in-Texas Tesla Model Y Build Quality, Has a Few Words to Say

If you’ve followed autoevolution recently, you know that Sandy Munro and his crew were trying to pry open the Tesla Model Y built in Austin and reveal its secrets. The teardown firm faced some issues with the structural battery pack, which proved to be a little too structural for its own good. Nevertheless, before they started tearing down the crossover, they wanted to see if build quality at Giga Texas was on par with other gigafactory in Tesla’s portfolio.

The Austin gigafactory has only recently started operations and is in the middle of the production ramp-up. According to recent data presented by Tesla, the current production level is around 250,000 vehicles a year, which is undoubtedly impressive. But being a new production facility, the cars coming off the production line are expected to have some teething problems. This makes it all the more interesting to see how Tesla progressed.

Based on the initial assessment of the Tesla Model Y at hand, it turns out that the Giga Texas facility is already building high-quality cars. They are not perfect, to be sure, but no other Tesla is, regardless of where they are made. The team at Munro & Associates found a few panel gaps, which they compared to those on the Model Y built at Fremont. Is the build quality at the Fremont factory better? It appears to be so. But Giga Texas is coming out strong, and given some time to adjust, it will build high-quality cars.

Remember that megacastings allow for better build quality, as the entire front and rear structure is built as one part. When you have multiple components glued or welded together, the potential for misalignment is higher because small tolerances add up to create bigger gaps. Hopefully, the megacastings will trickle down to other Tesla gigafactories, including the Fremont factory.