Tesla’s Giga Berlin is expanding its product portfolio with the addition of the Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive (RWD). Not only has the factory started production of this variant, it is different than the Model Y RWD being built at Giga Shanghai as it features a structural battery pack with cells from China’s BYD.
Tesla has been working towards production of the Model Y RWD at Giga Berlin for nearly a year. The company produced a handful of cars with BYD battery packs last June for testing. This variant was registered with local authorities that same month according to documents posted to the TFF forum. Data from the filing revealed it contained a structural battery pack with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells from BYD. Although a specific size was not listed, estimates put the pack at about 57-59kWh, slightly smaller than the LFP pack from CATL at 62kWh, giving it a potential WLTP range of 430km (267 miles).
According to our sources more of these test vehicles were produced in December, and now it appears Tesla has begun regular production of the Model Y RWD with a BYD structural pack at Giga Berlin this week, according to a report from Teslamag. The publication also cites information from a recent factory tour by members of local Tesla owners clubs in which they noticed a fourth Giga Press working to produce single piece front castings for the Model Y.
This now brings the number of Giga Press machines in operation at Giga Berlin to four, with another two still being installed. The company eventually plans to have eight Giga Press machines producing castings at Giga Berlin.
When Giga Berlin opened in March 2022 the factory was only producing the Performance variant of the Model Y. That changed with production of the Long Range variant starting just a few months later. With Tesla’s German factory now producing the RWD variant, the automaker will be able to allocate those Model Y RWD vehicles being built at Giga Shanghai for Europe to other markets. One of those markets is Canada, where a new rebate-eligible RWD variant was introduced last month. The vehicles were recently spotted at a Shanghai port waiting for export, and the first deliveries could happen late next month.
