Tesla officially started production of the Model Y with a structural battery pack and 4680 cells at Giga Texas earlier this year, making it the only Tesla vehicle factory producing cars with single-piece front and rear castings.
Tesla is hoping to change that by adding new production lines at some of their other factories to also produce Model Y with the revolutionary design.
The first factory to do this looks like it will be Giga Berlin, as Drive Tesla has learned crews at the new factory recently built 3 Model Ys with a structural battery pack.
According to a source familiar with the project, the 3 test vehicles were built on a new secondary body line within the last week.
Since the factory’s Giga Press machines are not yet set up to create the front castings, the necessary parts had to be shipped in from Giga Texas.
Unfortunately the only part that didn’t make it to Grünheide was the 4680 battery cells. Instead, the structural battery pack was put together with a dummy material inside to mimic the actual cells, so the vehicles are undriveable.
Even though the test builds were successful, this does not mean Giga Berlin will begin producing the new configuration soon. As we mentioned, the factory can’t produce the necessary castings.
Additionally, the automaker is still building the battery factory on the grounds of Giga Berlin. The facility is not expected to become operational until later this year, meaning Giga Texas will be Tesla’s sole source of 4680 cells for the foreseeable future.
With Giga Texas currently producing enough cells to make about 2,000 cars per month, there is not enough extra supply to send to other factories, meaning Model Ys with structural packs won’t be rolling off Giga Berlin’s production lines until the German battery factory goes online and until Tesla begins receiving 4680 cells from its battery suppliers.
