With the release of their Q4 and 2021 full year earnings report, Tesla has strongly hinted that Giga Texas will start Model Y production with structural battery packs and 4680 cells.
UPDATE 2:35pm PST: Elon Musk has confirmed on the live Q&A webcast that Giga Texas will start with structural battery packs and 4680 cells.
In the shareholder deck, Tesla commented on both of their new factories, Giga Texas and Giga Berlin.
When discussing the factory in Germany, Tesla confirmed the first cars rolling off the production line will feature 2170 cells, something that has been suspected all along.
Interestingly, when discussing the factory in Austin, Tesla made no such distinction.
Instead they simply said that “after final certification of Austin-made Model Y, we plan to start deliveries to customers.”
Making it even more interesting, the shareholder deck also includes an image of the Model Y production line at Giga Texas, with the caption “attaching seats to a structural battery pack.”
For the last several weeks there have been growing signs that Model Ys made at Giga Texas will feature Tesla’s latest technology.
There have been several Model Y frames spotted on the grounds of the factory with a large hole on the underside of the frame, where a structural battery pack would be attached.
We have also seen 4680 battery cell production equipment installed and being tested at Giga Texas.
If all of this wasn’t enough, Tesla also recently updated their Model Y owner’s manual to include a reference to the structural battery pack.
We could learn more later today during the live Q&A webcast, scheduled for 2:30pm PST.
