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Tesla Cybertruck steel supplier’s $1.7-billion TX facility is coming to form

Credit: u/X5AT_1/Reddit and Steel Dynamics Inc.

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It appears that the pieces are starting to come together for the Tesla Cybertruck. Apart from the rapid development of Gigafactory Texas, Steel Dynamics, Tesla’s supplier for the steel that would be used in the vehicle, is also making some great progress in its Sinton, TX mill. Aerial video of Steel Dynamics’ Sinton site shows that the complex is quite large, and a good portion of it has already been fitted with equipment. 

Steel Dynamics’ Sinton plant is estimated to cost $1.7 billion, which should allow the facility to provide numerous good-paying jobs to workers in the area. It was also initially announced to start operations in Fall 2021. What’s quite interesting is that the Sinton steel plant is only about 167 miles away from Gigafactory Texas. This should make the transportation of steel between the two facilities feasible, which should help Tesla ramp Cybertruck production smoothly. 

Credit: Steel Dynamics Inc.

While the development of Steel Dynamics’ plant in Sinton is not as quick and radical as the evolution of Gigafactory Texas, the site has grown significantly over the past months. When San Patricio County Judge David Krebs spoke to local media outlets about the project last December, the area for the steel plant only had relatively little work done. More recent aerial footage of the site reveals that several buildings have now been constructed, and some of them even have equipment installed. 

Interestingly enough, Tesla has stated in the past that the steel which would be used for the Cybertruck would have some unique touches. Judge Krebs’ previous statements about Steel Dynamics’ TX Plant hinted at this, as he noted that Tesla would be “redoing” the steel from the Sinton plant to create its all-electric pickup. This suggests that Tesla is being particularly careful about the Cybertruck’s secrets, especially those that involve the vehicle’s exoskeleton and body. 

Credit: Steel Dynamics Inc.

“Now some of these other companies who work with SDI will actually be taking SDI’s product and refining it a little bit better. We’re hearing that one of the companies that were pretty close to–probably getting close–is a company that’s going to be taking SDI steel, redoing it, and that steel will actually be going into the Tesla cars that they’re moving in from California to manufacture here,” Krebs said. 

The Tesla Cybertruck is expected to enter its Beta phase later this year, with mass production starting next year. This effectively gives Steel Dynamics more time to build out and develop its Sinton, TX plant. And if everything goes well, Tesla may very well find itself with a reliable steel supplier that could keep pace with the company and the potential demand for its uniquely-designed all-electric pickup truck. 

Credit: Steel Dynamics Inc.

Recent drone footage of Steel Dynamics’ Sinton, TX plant could be viewed here

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to tips@teslarati.com to give us a heads up. 

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla dominates in Norway with 213% sales jump from ’24

Tesla dominated in Norway, and although it lags behind other OEMs for the year, the Model Y is the best-selling model in the country by a long shot.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has recorded a dominating performance in the Norwegian market as the company outpaced other automakers for the month of May.

The company walked away with 19 percent of the total EV sales for the month, with a vast majority of those coming from the Model Y, which accounted for 2,344 of the 2,598 sales Tesla had for the month.

Tesla Model Y has become the most common vehicle in Norway

As a whole, Tesla outpaced Volkswagen by just over 300 units as the German company continues to have a tremendous year across Europe in terms of EVs.

For Tesla, however, it was a tremendous month, especially compared to past years, and as it continues to experience a reduction in sales in the European market, this was an outlier.

A Strong Month

Tesla’s performance in Norway in May was incredibly strong, including growth from the same month last year and quarter-over-quarter improvements.

Tesla sold just 830 units in Norway last May, meaning last month was a 213 percent increase compared to the same month last year.

For the year so far, Tesla has sold 7,600 units in Norway, trailing only Volkswagen, which has had a very strong year in Europe thus far. VW holds 19.5 percent of the total market share for the year in terms of EVs; Tesla has 13.7 percent.

However, the Model Y is still the best-selling EV in the country, and it is not particularly close. With 6,201 sales, it leads the Toyota BZ4X and the Volkswagen ID.4, which have 3,703 and 3,073 sales, respectively.

Tesla has combated weak sales figures in Europe this year, some of which are due to the Model Y changeover across all of the company’s global production facilities. CEO Elon Musk has said that he does not believe demand is an issue for Tesla at all, but instead, Europe is just a weak market.

Figures via EU-EVs

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Elon Musk responds to Tesla Supercharger shutdown on NJ Turnpike

Elon Musk says the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s decision to decommission 64 Tesla Superchargers ” sounds like corruption.”

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MINISTÉRIO DAS COMUNICAÇÕES, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has responded to Tesla being required to decommission and shut down over 60 Superchargers on the New Jersey Turnpike, a move that was announced late last week.

We reported late last week that Tesla was being required to decommission 64 Superchargers on the New Jersey Turnpike as the governing body of the toll road had chosen a sole, third-party company to provide EV charging solutions. This decision requires Tesla to eliminate its current Superchargers on the Turnpike, one of the country’s heaviest-traveled roads.

Tesla to lose 64 Superchargers on New Jersey Turnpike in controversial decision

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) requested that Tesla shut down the 64 charging stalls as a result of its new partnership, something that many are confused by, considering the company’s Superchargers are accessible to many different car companies and not only Teslas.

Additionally, Tesla’s Supercharger Network has gained a reputation for being one of the most reliable, with an incredibly high rate of upkeep.

With these details being known, the NJTA is still choosing to go with another supplier, not even allowing Tesla to keep its already-built Superchargers active, something that would be widely beneficial to EV drivers as a whole.

Musk believes the move is a sign of corruption:

While there is no explicit evidence that this is being done as a retaliatory response to Musk or Tesla specifically, it does seem extremely odd that the NJTA is not allowing the company to keep already-built and active Superchargers available to EV drivers.

Tesla has prepared for this decision for several years already, as it knew this was a possibility. It built 116 other charging piles near the Turnpike, giving drivers access to reliable charging piles.

It would not be a surprise if there was some sort of political motivation behind the removal of Tesla Superchargers on the Turnpike. Politicians have already shown that they are willing to be very vocal about their distaste for Musk and Tesla.

Minnesota Governor and former Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Walz has been very up front about his disdain for the company and its CEO, especially as Musk took a stab at the Federal level with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

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Tesla bails on crucial piece of India production, aims to rely on imports

Tesla is not keen on establishing an entire production facility in India, and will instead focus on importing.

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Credit: Narendra Modi | Twitter

Tesla is bailing on a crucial piece of the puzzle that would likely enable the production of its vehicles in India, and will instead rely on imports, a bold strategy in the broader scheme, as the country has prioritized local manufacturing in an effort to bolster its economy.

The automaker has dragged its feet to commit to a localized production strategy in India, something that seemed to be the only pathway to a mass market presence in what is the most populous country in the world.

However, Tesla has evidently made a decision on what its plans for the market will be. It seems apparent that it still wants to sell vehicles in India and establish a presence there, but it will not do it in what many would consider a more traditional sense: building vehicles domestically. This is something the company has sparred with the Indian government on for several years.

Now, it’s made up its mind.

During a press conference earlier today, India’s Heavy Industry Minister, Shri Kumaraswamy, confirmed Tesla’s plans for how it will penetrate the massive Indian market, and it will not be doing so through domestic manufacturing:

Kumaraswamy indicated that Tesla has no interest in building cars in India, but it wants to establish some presence there, especially with showrooms, allowing citizens to see and drive the cars they could buy from the company.

The move comes as India has made major progress in reducing the import duties that have frightened many automakers from doing business as importers. India’s massive import duties on vehicles built in other countries doubled prices, which is a significant reason for Tesla’s delay in entering the market.

India is considering a reduction to just 10 percent from 100 percent, which would be significant for companies like Tesla, which are doing whatever they can to enter the market without feeling the impact of the duties.

Electric vehicles made up just 2.5 percent of sales in 2024. There were 4.3 million vehicle purchases in India last year.

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