In the middle of next year, Tesla will start operating Giga Berlin, its new European factory. The first model to leave the German facilities will be the Model Y destined for the local market, which will undergo a complete redesign compared to the one currently manufactured in Fremont, in the words of Elon Musk himself. But, what differences will exist between one and the other?
The brand will go one step further in the American model’s unibody manufacturing process. Currently, the Fremont Model Y has a rear underframe constructed from two large aluminum blocks, rather than the seventy pieces of stamped steel that make up the same section in the Model 3. By the end of the year, that frame will pass to be formed by a single piece.
According to some Tesla executives at Giga Berlin, the German Model Y will add to this a front frame created from a single oversized piece. The massive function machines required for its construction called Giga Press, which makes it possible to reduce the parts needed to manufacture the vehicle structures.
In addition to allowing a significant reduction in production costs and more incredible speed, this method should also improve the car’s passive safety. Another of the Giga Berlin Model Y changes will be its paint. Tesla intends to build in its new factory “the best paint shop in the world” to make its customers forget about the problems presented in this section by the Californian Model Y.
If all goes well, Giga Berlin should start working in July 2021, so the Tesla Model Y will hit the European market almost simultaneously as rivals such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the Nissan Ariya, or the Volkswagen ID.4. Interestingly, the only one manufactured in Europe and the Model Y will be the ID.4: the Mustang Mach-E will come from Mexico and the Ariya from Japan.