Model Y - Gigafactory Texas Production

[Mrbrock]

Serious or not, I did exactly what Tesla told me to do at the time. The converse can be said of Tesla, obviously they weren’t serious about wanting to deliver me a car at the time all things considered… but they were more than willing to take my deposit and call me a customer? Definitely off topic though; everyone has different circumstances and I don’t lose any sleep over people online thinking one way or another about me.

I am serious, what exact did you do that you say Tesla told you to do relating to a vehicle from Austin? Please point out where Tesla says what to do if you want a vehicle from Austin.

Not exactly. When I placed my order I told the SA I wanted a Austin MY no matter how long it took. He told me to not complete my profile. I didn’t complete it until he told me to complete it (this was all back when it looked like Austin was going to start producing cars in October). He told me not to worry if any cars get assigned he’ll just unassigned them and give them to other people waiting locally who want the same thing, no big deal. I’ve never put my order on hold. I got assigned a car once, back on 11/5, and he simply gave it to someone else. Ive been waiting for a VIN again ever since, which is fine because the longer it goes unassigned, the closer I am to a Austin MY. Anyhow, the conversation I had with the SA when I placed my initial order was pretty specific almost a year ago… I wanted a car from Austin.

There is no policy for this. Your SA was speaking out of turn. He told you to complete it not because Austin was “going to start in October” but because it was going to get canceled for not being complete and he’d be out a sale. And now once you get a car assigned you can only postpone once before Tesla can cancel your order. Which you have already done. And you go back in line. So now, if you get a non Austin vin, your order and deposit will be canceled and not refunded. And you’ll have to place a new order and get back in line.

SAs try to get sales. They don’t say no but they don’t say yes. Saying YES would have meant placing you on an Austin waitlist which doesn’t exist so they can’t say YES. Being honest and saying the only way to guarantee that is to wait until Austin is shipping cars BEFORE placing your order would amount to a NO which they won’t do. They may not be the slimy used car sales people of old but they are still sales people who make more money the more they sell and will say whatever they can to get rose sales.

 

[eeee-meeee]

I would, I think we will see the $25k Tesla call it Model C, before we see a standard range they already announced wasn't comming.

How about call it model T, Then it will be ... S3XY T !!

 

[Quagmire2]

I am serious, what exact did you do that you say Tesla told you to do relating to a vehicle from Austin? Please point out where Tesla says what to do if you want a vehicle from Austin.


There is no policy for this. Your SA was speaking out of turn. He told you to complete it not because Austin was “going to start in October” but because it was going to get canceled for not being complete and he’d be out a sale. And now once you get a car assigned you can only postpone once before Tesla can cancel your order. Which you have already done. And you go back in line. So now, if you get a non Austin vin, your order and deposit will be canceled and not refunded. And you’ll have to place a new order and get back in line.

SAs try to get sales. They don’t say no but they don’t say yes. Saying YES would have meant placing you on an Austin waitlist which doesn’t exist so they can’t say YES. Being honest and saying the only way to guarantee that is to wait until Austin is shipping cars BEFORE placing your order would amount to a NO which they won’t do. They may not be the slimy used car sales people of old but they are still sales people who make more money the more they sell and will say whatever they can to get rose sales.

To my knowledge, SA's are not paid on commission. But as you say, they still sales people at the end and should not be relied upon for advice. Their goal is to get you to order the car. Your own research should be made to confirm or refute any claims made. Just like the person that is now mad at Tesla because he changed his order config after his SA told him that is possible and now has to eat the $4000 increase in price( but $1000 effectively more for him since he went from red/white to white/black).

People really need to stop taking SA's words for gospel. Do their own research. Heck that can be said for any car brand. You will get people that know what is going on and sometimes you get the person that knows the bare minimum.

 

[pcmike]

Tesla told you to place and order and ask your SA to ensure you got a car from Austin? A plant that wasn’t close to finished at the time of your order and no real idea when cars would come out? It seems that is what you are asking your SA and reminding him what you want. I would love for you to show us where Tesla told you to do this... Tesla wants you to place an order for what’s listed on the website. Then you wait until they say a car is ready for you. It will match or be better than what you ordered for the same price or less.

SA told me to place my order in April and just don’t complete my profile until he said to do so. He told me to complete my profile at the end of August because he (amongst plenty of people) were expecting Austin to start producing cars in October. Like I said, just followed instructions as they were given to me.

 

[Fctryseald]

Ok. In CA it is a 60 day permit and the date is the date of expiration. Also has VIN.

Considering the following, what are the odds that the MY I ordered will be made at Giga Texas?

• I live in Florida, but I was born in Texas
• Even though Florida is on the East coast, I live in Tampa which is on the West Coast (of Florida)
• My last name is German (ok technically it's Dutch)
• The company I work for is headquartered in Silicon Valley 10 miles from Tesla Fremont
• I like Chinese food (real Chinese,

Serious or not, I did exactly what Tesla told me to do at the time. The converse can be said of Tesla, obviously they weren’t serious about wanting to deliver me a car at the time all things considered… but they were more than willing to take my deposit and call me a customer? Definitely off topic though; everyone has different circumstances and I don’t lose any sleep over people online thinking one way or another about me.

Don't even listen to these trolls, they hate everything and disagree with everything. You put a deposit down so you have the right to do whatever you want with your order.

 

[advocate8]

How about call it model T, Then it will be ... S3XY T !!

prob “EST” even better.

 

[BGOwner]

How about call it model T, Then it will be ... S3XY T !!

Thought about it for a minute, then was picturing Ford Sueing Tesla over the name and smiled more.

 

[ZenRockGarden]

I'd like to pivot back to Texas production, 4860's, ranges, etc.

From what I infer in Elon's words:

1. Tesla is completely chip-supply limited right now, and has a backlog on every model already in production.

2. Thus there's no reason to roll out new models. Also not much motivation to ship lower-margin versions of vehicles.

3. The simplest ramp up is to make a 4680 pack with the same total KWH as the existing Model Y LR, resulting in roughly equal rated range.

4. Yes, this would mean Texas MY's would probably come out 500 pounds lighter than their otherwise-similar Fremont siblings for a while.

5. Once Texas ramps up, that gives room to modernize Fremont to make matching 4680 units

6. When both plants are on 4680, Tesla would have the option to increase range (if and when they find motivation to do so)

7. If they get past being chip-supply limited and return to battery-cell-limited, then they'd have motivation to consider a Model 2 and/or standard range Model Y's.

 

[NYMY]

All I did for a year was exactly what Tesla told me to do.

I'd like to pivot back to Texas production, 4860's, ranges, etc.

From what I infer in Elon's words:

1. Tesla is completely chip-supply limited right now, and has a backlog on every model already in production.

2. Thus there's no reason to roll out new models. Also not much motivation to ship lower-margin versions of vehicles.

3. The simplest ramp up is to make a 4680 pack with the same total KWH as the existing Model Y LR, resulting in roughly equal rated range.

4. Yes, this would mean Texas MY's would probably come out 500 pounds lighter than their otherwise-similar Fremont siblings for a while.

5. Once Texas ramps up, that gives room to modernize Fremont to make matching 4680 units

6. When both plants are on 4680, Tesla would have the option to increase range (if and when they find motivation to do so)

7. If they get past being chip-supply limited and return to battery-cell-limited, then they'd have motivation to consider a Model 2 and/or standard range Model Y's.

I think this is all totally reasonable. However, there is also *some* interest in Tesla maintaining a big mileage lead over e.g., ID4 and Mach-E. As is noted regularly - the 4680 doesn't help the buyer really unless it translates to something tangible (price, range). Clearly Tesla doesn't *need* to - they have ample orders. But I do think they like maintaining a lead in things like range on competitors...

 

[Ron J.]

I'd like to pivot back to Texas production, 4860's, ranges, etc.

From what I infer in Elon's words:

1. Tesla is completely chip-supply limited right now, and has a backlog on every model already in production.

2. Thus there's no reason to roll out new models. Also not much motivation to ship lower-margin versions of vehicles.

3. The simplest ramp up is to make a 4680 pack with the same total KWH as the existing Model Y LR, resulting in roughly equal rated range.

4. Yes, this would mean Texas MY's would probably come out 500 pounds lighter than their otherwise-similar Fremont siblings for a while.

5. Once Texas ramps up, that gives room to modernize Fremont to make matching 4680 units

6. When both plants are on 4680, Tesla would have the option to increase range (if and when they find motivation to do so)

7. If they get past being chip-supply limited and return to battery-cell-limited, then they'd have motivation to consider a Model 2 and/or standard range Model Y's.

A couple of points on your list:

The weight reduction in the Austin MYs vs the current Fremont MYs is probably on the order of 350 lbs. A 400+ lb total weight reduction was talked about in late 2020 as coming from the dual mega-cast chassis plus the 4680 structural battery pack. Since then Fremont has already started using the rear mega-casting so some of those weight saving have already been introduced in production MYs (starting in mid-2021)

It was reported a couple of months ago, and seen in some drone flyovers, that Fremont already had thousands of front mega-castings on hand. This would indicate that Fremont is getting ready to start producing the V2.0 MY chassis and this chassis requires a structural battery pack. The big questions are when will Fremont actually start production of the new chassis and will they use 2160 or 4680 structural battery packs. My GUESS is they will start producing the new chassis and use the 4680 structural battery packs by the end of this quarter in order to keep the Fremont MYs and the Austin MY with the same configuration.

 

[ZenRockGarden]

I think this is all totally reasonable. However, there is also *some* interest in Tesla maintaining a big mileage lead over e.g., ID4 and Mach-E. As is noted regularly - the 4680 doesn't help the buyer really unless it translates to something tangible (price, range). Clearly Tesla doesn't *need* to - they have ample orders. But I do think they like maintaining a lead in things like range on competitors...

I can see some prestige in posting a huge range number. But again - they have a half-year-long waiting list on what they already make and additional models that are waiting a turn... Elon of course wants to arrive at 400-ish mile packs, but I can't see any hurry

 

[ZenRockGarden]

A couple of points on your list:

The weight reduction in the Austin MYs vs the current Fremont MYs is probably on the order of 350 lbs. A 400+ lb total weight reduction was talked about in late 2020 as coming from the dual mega-cast chassis plus the 4680 structural battery pack. Since then Fremont has already started using the rear mega-casting so some of those weight saving have already been introduced in production MYs (starting in mid-2021)

It was reported a couple of months ago, and seen in some drone flyovers, that Fremont already had thousands of front mega-castings on hand. This would indicate that Fremont is getting ready to start producing the V2.0 MY chassis and this chassis requires a structural battery pack. The big questions are when will Fremont actually start production of the new chassis and will they use 2160 or 4680 structural battery packs. My GUESS is they will start producing the new chassis and use the 4680 structural battery packs by the end of this quarter in order to keep the Fremont MYs and the Austin MY with the same configuration.

My (made up) 500 pound number accounted for 300 pounds saved by simply going to the new structural pack and front casting, plus another couple hundred pounds saved by populating somewhat fewer cells in the initial 4680 pack to make it a rough match to existing ~80 KWH capacity.

Down the road, they could make an "XLR" 4680 pack in the 90 KWH region to get that 400+ mile range.

Fun to discuss and speculate

 

[ProjectTrinity]

A couple of points on your list:

The weight reduction in the Austin MYs vs the current Fremont MYs is probably on the order of 350 lbs. A 400+ lb total weight reduction was talked about in late 2020 as coming from the dual mega-cast chassis plus the 4680 structural battery pack. Since then Fremont has already started using the rear mega-casting so some of those weight saving have already been introduced in production MYs (starting in mid-2021)

It was reported a couple of months ago, and seen in some drone flyovers, that Fremont already had thousands of front mega-castings on hand. This would indicate that Fremont is getting ready to start producing the V2.0 MY chassis and this chassis requires a structural battery pack. The big questions are when will Fremont actually start production of the new chassis and will they use 2160 or 4680 structural battery packs. My GUESS is they will start producing the new chassis and use the 4680 structural battery packs by the end of this quarter in order to keep the Fremont MYs and the Austin MY with the same configuration.

That would be great. Now would the Austin cars use the same water based paint that Fremont is limited to use?

 

[CRIMSON_DATE]

I'd like to pivot back to Texas production, 4860's, ranges, etc.

From what I infer in Elon's words:

1. Tesla is completely chip-supply limited right now, and has a backlog on every model already in production.

2. Thus there's no reason to roll out new models. Also not much motivation to ship lower-margin versions of vehicles.

3. The simplest ramp up is to make a 4680 pack with the same total KWH as the existing Model Y LR, resulting in roughly equal rated range.

4. Yes, this would mean Texas MY's would probably come out 500 pounds lighter than their otherwise-similar Fremont siblings for a while.

5. Once Texas ramps up, that gives room to modernize Fremont to make matching 4680 units

6. When both plants are on 4680, Tesla would have the option to increase range (if and when they find motivation to do so)

7. If they get past being chip-supply limited and return to battery-cell-limited, then they'd have motivation to consider a Model 2 and/or standard range Model Y's.

item 3 ----> If they make a 4680 pack with the same KWH there will be a minimum increase of 16% range.

An 82KW 4680 Pack is 16% more efficient then an 82KW 2170 pack. For equal range the 4680 pack would need to be smaller

 

[ZenRockGarden]

That would be great. Now would the Austin cars use the same water based paint that Fremont is limited to use?

No clue. Texas likely has fewer environmental regs vs California for how the factory does the painting. But I could see them sticking with existing paint and just modernizing how it's applied (the better to order one single supply of paint vs two sets of formulations)

 

[ZenRockGarden]

itme 3 ----> If they make a 4680 pack with the same KWH there will be a minimum increase of 16% range.

An 82KW 4680 Pack is 16% more efficient then an 82KW 2170 pack. For equal range the 4680 pack would need to be smaller

I'd respectfully disagree with this. 82 KWH is 82 KHW. The 4680 is 16% more efficient per _weight_ of the pack, it does not have magic KWH's that somehow do more work.

So you can either have an 82 KHW 4680 pack which is smaller and lighter than the existing one, or you can have a 4680 pack that's the same weight as existing and holds more KHW hence more range. Not both.

 

[NYMY]

I'd respectfully disagree with this. 82 KWH is 82 KHW. The 4680 is 16% more efficient per _weight_ of the pack, it does not have magic KWH's that somehow do more work.

So you can either have an 82 KHW 4680 pack which is smaller and lighter than the existing one, or you can have a 4680 pack that's the same weight as existing and holds more KHW hence more range. Not both.

Agree with this except for overall weight considerations, which leads to a range increase of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ for the same kwh.

 

[CRIMSON_DATE]

I'd respectfully disagree with this. 82 KWH is 82 KHW. The 4680 is 16% more efficient per _weight_ of the pack, it does not have magic KWH's that somehow do more work.

So you can either have an 82 KHW 4680 pack which is smaller and lighter than the existing one, or you can have a 4680 pack that's the same weight as existing and holds more KHW hence more range. Not both.

My understanding is that the battery itself is more efficeient. yes 82KW is 82KW but one generates more heat as it is used . Less energy lost to heat equals more range. This is the same property which allows it to charge faster

 

[theStig]

Tesla should software limit the range on 4680 Austin produced Y’s to match all existing 2160 Fremont Y’s until current supply is all sold out.

Then they should increase the price for increased range and charge a fee to unlock the range for those that already have the range limited 4680.

Just like they did with rear heated seats and SR/SR+

They’ll (shareholders too) make more money and it’ll deal with those that keep extending deliveries that affect sales numbers. It’s better for business.

 

[NYMY]

My understanding is that the battery itself is more efficeient. yes 82KW is 82KW but one generates more heat as it is used . Less energy lost to heat equals more range. This is the same property which allows it to charge faster

The tabless design allows it to charge faster because the electrons have effectively a shorter distance to travel and thus (indeed) produce less heat. But I don’t think this is a huge efficiency gain it just means you can run more kw to charge without melting the battery…

Typically in battery systems you hear about “90% round trip efficiency” so I would think the heat loss from the battery is not the critical benefit…