Tesla has resumed production at Giga Texas after a shutdown to upgrade the production lines for both the Model Y and the Cybertruck. The shutdown lasted longer than expected, but with the upgrades now complete, Tesla appears to be building Cybertrucks with improved quality, and possibly at least one new paint colour for the Model Y.
Tesla shut down Giga Texas in the first week of September, and the shutdown was evident with empty parking lots and no newly built vehicles rolling out of the factory and into the logistics lots. That changed on Monday with drone pilot Joe Tegtmeyer noting in his early morning flyover of Giga Texas that all employees were back at work today, with Cybertruck enthusiast @greggertruck sharing a photo on X showing employees being welcomed back at a security checkpoint, which you can see above.
Giga Texas NEWS! All employees back at work today, training, final prep, test production of Model Y bodies & at least 2 Master Candidate Cybertrucks produced & imaged today outside! This wee will be to get everything back into operational status to resume full production by next… pic.twitter.com/zgXGzVWmnh
— Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer) September 25, 2023
During his flight over Giga Texas two newly built Cybertrucks were spotted outside the factory, which he referred to as ‘Master Candidate,’ builds, while others used the name ‘Manufacturing Confirmation’ (MC). While the Cybertrucks were spotted from a distance, fans were quick to point out the improved build quality of these units, which were reportedly the first units to roll off the production line after the upgrade project. This makes sense as a MC Cybertruck is essentially what will be delivered to the first customers, and is a good sign that the delivery could finally be close.
The Cybertrucks weren’t the only interesting thing Tegtmeyer spotted recently. During his drone flyover on Friday, three Model Y bodies were seen lined up side by side, two of them having no floors indicating they require structural battery packs with 4680 cells, and the third with no cavity on the bottom for the 2170 battery pack. But there was something else much more interesting than that as the Model Y body on the far right appears as though it is finished in Quicksilver paint. Quicksilver is much lighter than Midnight Silver Metallic, the grey colour Giga Texas currently produces.
If you aren’t familiar, Quicksilver is currently only available from Giga Berlin, and is one of two colours available exclusively from the German factory, along with Midnight Cherry Red. Elon Musk has previously said that Giga Berlin’s advanced Paint Shop made it the only Tesla factory that could produce the two colours, but with the recent upgrades, and given that Giga Texas was built and opened at essentially the same time, the Austin factory could also soon roll out Quicksilver and Midnight Cherry Red for the Model Y.
Do you think this looks like Quicksilver? Let us know in the comments below.
