On January 18th, according to a Twitter leak, a small number of Model Ys have started to appear around the partially completed Tesla Giga Austin. According to foreign media reports, Giga Austin has started trial production of the Model Y, which means the first batch of customer cars could be prepared by the end of the first quarter of 2022.
It is reported that the Texas plant can only complete a small amount of Model Y production in the first quarter, but this paves the way for large-scale production in 2022. In addition, the Model Y produced by Giga Austin will be the first to adopt Tesla’s new structural battery pack and 4680 cell. However, according to internal sources, due to the continued chip shortage, some of the Giga Austin Model Ys may revert to the existing 2170 battery cells.
Although the starting price is relatively high at $60,990, the Model Y is currently the most sought-after model in the United States for Tesla. According to estimates, Tesla sold nearly 200,000 cars in the United States alone last year (Tesla only releases total sales data for Model 3 and Model Y).
With the right-hand drive version of the Model Y set to launch in 2022, and a continued expansion in Asia and Europe through Giga Shanghai and Giga Berlin, Tesla will deliver more than 1.5 million cars worldwide this year. Giga Austin will play a key role in achieving this goal, greatly reducing North America’s dependence on the Fremont factory.
🔗Source: insideevs
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.