Construction at Giga Texas began in July 2020, even before Elon Musk officially announced the location of the next Gigafactory.
One year later and a major milestone is about to take place in Austin.
The automaker is reportedly preparing to build the first complete Model Y at the factory in a matter of days.
The news comes from a “trusted on-site source” with knowledge of the construction and timelines who spoke to drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer.
“Expect the first fully produced test Model Y, which will be running operational but not street legal, in the next week here at Giga Texas. And that would include the stampings, the castings, the welding, the painting, the batteries, everything. A full test running prototype. It’s also used for training of the new employees.”
If the test runs are successful, the source added that Tesla is “convinced” they will be manufacturing production Model Ys within the next two months.
Despite hopes to do so, the first Model Ys built at Giga Texas may not include a structural battery pack with 4680 cells. During the company’s Q2 2021 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk said they have a backup plan to build the electric SUV with a non-structural battery pack and 2170 battery cells until the new design is ready to go.
Giga Texas is not the only new factory that will be building the newly designed Model Y. Giga Berlin is also getting close to test production as the source confirmed progress in Germany is about a month behind that in Austin.
You can watch the full drone flyover in the video below, with the comments about the Model Y in the few few minutes of the clip.
