Photo: IDRA
If market rumors prove true, Tesla will replace IDRA as the Giga press supplier with Bühler, a Swiss die-casting giant. This comes shortly after German media discussed the high rejection rate for the Model Y mega castings produced at Giga Berlin.
EV industry watcher Chris Zheng says Tesla is looking to replace IDRA as the company that builds the Giga presses. The winner is Switzerland’s Bühler, which was Tesla’s preferred choice in 2019 when it was looking for a company able to make the Giga press. The Swiss company refused the job then, but after seeing IDRA’s success, it is more than happy to oblige now.
Zheng cites information from employees of a Chinese startup that benchmarks Tesla production and its vehicles. Reportedly, the Chinese startup intends to use integrated die-castings like the ones of the Tesla Model Y, so they should be familiar with the matter. Bühler Giga presses are also expected to be superior to IDRA’s offering.
“Tesla’s Giga press supplier will be replaced from Italy’s IDRA to Switzerland’s Bühler next year,” Chris Zheng wrote on Twitter. “The latter is also one of the world’s 6 largest die-casting giants. It rejected Tesla’s demand for a 6000t-level Giga press in 2019, but now their products offer better performance.”
Of course, there’s no way to confirm this with Tesla, as the EV maker closed its PR department long ago. But the rumors seem to corroborate with recent reports regarding the poor performance of IDRA’s Giga presses at Giga Berlin. This is interesting, considering that Tesla uses Italian die-casting machines at three gigafactories, including the crown jewel Giga Shanghai. None of them had such a high rejection rate as the one in Grünheide, estimated by EFahrer sources at more than 60%.
Dropping IDRA might seem a little extreme considering that no other company answered Tesla’s call for a gigantic die casting machine in 2019. Certainly, the team in Italy must be worried sick right now unless they were reassured somehow by Tesla. It’s also possible that Tesla wants to add another supplier for the Giga presses, considering its massive expansion plans.
Zheng cites information from employees of a Chinese startup that benchmarks Tesla production and its vehicles. Reportedly, the Chinese startup intends to use integrated die-castings like the ones of the Tesla Model Y, so they should be familiar with the matter. Bühler Giga presses are also expected to be superior to IDRA’s offering.
“Tesla’s Giga press supplier will be replaced from Italy’s IDRA to Switzerland’s Bühler next year,” Chris Zheng wrote on Twitter. “The latter is also one of the world’s 6 largest die-casting giants. It rejected Tesla’s demand for a 6000t-level Giga press in 2019, but now their products offer better performance.”
Of course, there’s no way to confirm this with Tesla, as the EV maker closed its PR department long ago. But the rumors seem to corroborate with recent reports regarding the poor performance of IDRA’s Giga presses at Giga Berlin. This is interesting, considering that Tesla uses Italian die-casting machines at three gigafactories, including the crown jewel Giga Shanghai. None of them had such a high rejection rate as the one in Grünheide, estimated by EFahrer sources at more than 60%.
Dropping IDRA might seem a little extreme considering that no other company answered Tesla’s call for a gigantic die casting machine in 2019. Certainly, the team in Italy must be worried sick right now unless they were reassured somehow by Tesla. It’s also possible that Tesla wants to add another supplier for the Giga presses, considering its massive expansion plans.
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