German publication Teslamag has an exclusive report in which it claims the first Tesla Model Y carrying the 4680 battery is produced at Giga Berlin as a test.
In mid-June, after a slow start in Grünheide, Tesla reported that 1000 Model Ys were produced there in one week for the first time. Surprisingly, at least a few dozen in the Long Range variant were added by the end of the month, after the German Gigafactory had previously only delivered the more expensive performance version. With the goal of a further significant increase, Tesla then sent most of its employees on a two-week vacation after the second Friday in July in order to restructure production.
I believe today is the last day of the production stop at Tesla Giga Berlin to optimize and improve the production process and increase the number of Model Ys Tesla makes per week.
I believe today is the last day of the production stop at Tesla #GigaBerlin to optimize and improve the production process and increase the number of Model Ys #Tesla makes per week. We should probably start seeing 2000-3000 Model Ys weekly produced at Giga Berlin by year end.— Torque News (@torquenewsauto) July 22, 2022
This work continued this week, teslamag.de learned from a person who was informed about the processes. However, some production staff have been reassigned to test the conversions that have already been completed and to prepare for the full restart next Monday (July 25). Various innovations on the German Model Y are said to have been tried out on the occasion, including the structural battery pack of 4680 batteries as in Texas.
In other words, Tesla has tested building a Model Y with 4680 battery pack at Giga Berlin.
Also, like the Model Y with 4680 batteries from the USA, it can be recognized by the designation "Standard," which is displayed in the vehicle information on its touchscreen under the "Model Y." Unlike the previous copies from Texas, however, there is no "Dual Motor" underneath. It is therefore a Model Y only with rear-wheel drive and a smaller battery, as is already being sold in China.
However, Teslamag also reports that European customers should not hope for a quick start of this variant, which is popular in China, and that in the state-of-the-art 4680 design. The Model Y Standard built this week was purely a test vehicle, the person informed said. Another one was scheduled for Friday. This should even get the front casting from the local Tesla factory , which had previously been delivered from China. With the Model Y in the conventional design with batteries from slimmer 2170 batteries, only the rear frame element was previously cast in one piece in giga presses.
According to earlier information from the industry, the German Tesla factory was not planning to switch to Model Y with die-cast element at the front and rear and the 4680 battery until the fourth quarter at the earliest. The batteries for this are to be produced in a separate building on the Gigafactory site, which is not yet finished. In Tesla's Q2 earnings call on Wednesday night, CEO Musk stressed that no 4680 batteries would be needed to boost electric car production to new records for the rest of this year .
Armen Hareyan is the founder and the Editor in Chief of Torque News. He founded TorqueNews.com in 2010, which since then has been publishing expert news and analysis about the automotive industry. He can be reached at Torque News Twitter, Facebok, Linkedin and Youtube.
