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Tesla seems on track to have over 10 Giga Presses by the end of the year

Credit: Gabeincal/YouTube

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The Giga Press is shaping up to be one of Tesla’s trump cards in the emerging electric vehicle sector. And if recent comments from the company that produces the Giga Press are any indication, it appears that Tesla may be on track to end 2021 with over 10 of the giant die-casting machines deployed in its production facilities. 

During a recent virtual open house, Italy-based IDRA Group remarked that two of its house-sized Giga Press machines have already been shipped and installed at its customer’s plants. The company added that the contraptions are running production batches of the largest casted parts ever made worldwide. Such a statement mirrors previous comments from Elon Musk, who has noted in the past that Tesla’s single-piece casts for the Model Y are among the largest in the industry. 

This was not the most notable part of IDRA’s open house. Elaborating further, the Italy-based die-cast machine maker also noted that nine additional Giga Presses should be delivered within this year. Similar to its previous videos, the company did not name Tesla as its customer, though industry veteran Sandy Munro has remarked in the past that 11 Giga Presses have been ordered by Tesla for its operations. 

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“I found out through the grapevine that they bought 11 more of those casting machines. That’s a lot. I mean, that’s a lot of casting machines, and they’re looking at it as the bargain of the century. Rather than buying a stamping line or what have you, you buy these things and just change the dies to push out whatever you want,” Munro remarked

What is rather interesting is that Tesla’s Giga Presses are only getting bigger. During the Q4 and FY 2020 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk stated that Tesla would soon be ordering the equipment necessary to make the Cybertruck, one of which is an 8,000-ton casting press that would produce the all-electric pickup truck’s rear body casting. Sure enough, IDRA announced last month that it had secured the order for its largest and most ambitious casting machine yet—an 8,000-ton Giga Press that could be used to make parts for pickup trucks and large SUVs. 

“Once again, IDRA makes a world’s first for technological innovation, and we are very proud to announce that today, on the 16th of March 2021, we’ve been able to secure the first order for an 8,000-ton die-casting machine. This order is being placed by a leading global manufacturer for new energy vehicles,” IDRA General Manager Riccardo Ferrario said

Watch IDRA’s virtual open house in the video below. 

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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.

Elon Musk

Tesla Optimus’ pilot line will already have an incredible annual output

And this would just be the beginning. In the future, Musk mused that Optimus’ production could literally be out of this world.

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(Credit: Tesla)

During the 2025 Tesla Annual Shareholder Meeting, Elon Musk provided a teaser of the company’s targets for Optimus’s annual production. As per the CEO, Optimus’ pilot line will be capable of producing up to one million units annually. 

And this would just be the beginning. In the future, Musk mused that Optimus’ production could literally be out of this world.

Musk targets world’s fastest production ramp for Optimus robots

Tesla’s first Optimus line will be built in Fremont, California, and is projected to produce around one million robots per year. Other facilities like Gigafactory Texas could scale Optimus production to 10 million units annually. Musk even joked that a 100-million-unit line might one day be built “on Mars.” With Optimus, Musk stated that Tesla is looking to achieve a historic production ramp. 

“So we’re going to launch on the fastest production ramp of any product of any large complex manufactured product ever, starting with building a one million unit production line in Fremont. And that’s Line One. And then a 10-million-unit-per-year production line here (at Giga Texas). I don’t know where we’re going to put the one hundred million unit production line, maybe on Mars. But I think it’s going to literally get to one hundred million a year, maybe even a billion a year,” Musk said.

Optimus and sustainable abundance

Tesla’s Master Plan Part IV is all about sustainable abundance, and Musk highlighted that the humanoid robot will play a huge role in his vision for the future. He noted that Optimus’ mass production could redefine economic and social systems worldwide and open up premium services for everyone across the globe. 

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“People often talk about eliminating poverty or giving everyone amazing medical care. There’s only one way to do that, and that’s with the Optimus robot,” Musk said. “With humanoid robots, you can actually give everyone amazing medical care. In terms of Optimus will be more precise. Optimus will ultimately be better than the best human surgeon with a level of precision that is beyond human… People always talked about eliminating poverty, but actually, Optimus will actually eliminate poverty,” Musk said.

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Ford considers drastic move with F-150 Lightning: ‘The demand is just not there’

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Credit: Ford Motor Company

Ford is considering a drastic move with its F-150 Lightning, which was the best-selling EV pickup on the market last quarter, beating out Tesla’s Cybertruck.

Ford has had a tumultuous entrance into its more expanded electric vehicle strategy over the past several years. At one point, the company was widely considered to be the most invested legacy automaker in the transition to electrification, but as the company has seen some real backtracking in terms of its sales and demand, it is cooling down its commitment.

At the end of Q3, it seemed to already be considering making some moves to cool off its EV ambitions, especially as the $7,500 EV tax credit was removed and it appeared that consumers would be less attracted to its vehicles without this sizeable discount.

Now, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, Ford is considering scrapping the F-150 Lightning altogether, as one employee said “the demand is just not there.”

Despite it being the best-selling EV pickup in the U.S. last quarter, the sales simply do not match up with the pricing, and financially, it is not the time to try to dive further into a project that is not making a profit. Ford has been dwindling in its commitment to EVs over the past several quarters, and its profits are reflecting a slowing interest in its electric vehicles.

Simply put, Ford’s combustion engine lineup of pickups in the F-Series is, by far, the best-selling division of trucks globally. Ford brought an awesome product forth with the Lightning, a mirror of the gas-powered F-Series that had a variety of trim levels for whatever the truck would be used for by the consumer.

However, the demand and sales have caused Ford to take a loss on its electric truck: figures from early last year indicated it was losing between $100,000 and $132,000 per vehicle.

It is not an official announcement, as Ford has not publicly said anything regarding its plans for the Lightning at this time.

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Elon Musk

Tesla schedules Roadster unveiling event, and you won’t believe when it is

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Tesla has tentatively scheduled its unveiling event for the Roadster’s next-generation iteration, and you will not believe the date the company picked for it.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during the 2025 Annual Shareholders Meeting that the company is aiming for an April 1 demo event.

Yes, April Fools’ Day.

Tesla originally aimed for its “most epic demo” to take place at the end of this year. However, the writing on the wall as 2025 winds down seemed to indicate the company was not quite ready to show off everything it plans to implement into the Roadster.

Its capabilities have been teased quite heavily throughout most of the year, but the biggest hints came last week when Musk appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast.

He said:

“Whether it’s good or bad, it will be unforgettable. My friend Peter Thiel once reflected that the future was supposed to have flying cars, but we don’t have flying cars. I think if Peter wants a flying car, he should be able to buy one…I think it has a shot at being the most memorable product unveil ever. [It will be unveiled] hopefully before the end of the year. You know, we need to make sure that it works. This is some crazy technology in this car. Let’s just put it this way: if you took all the James Bond cars and combined them, it’s crazier than that.”

The Roadster has been somewhat of a letdown, at least in its newest version, thus far. Tesla has routinely delayed the project, putting those who put lofty down payments on the car in a weird limbo, lost at what to do.

One notable pre-orderer cancelled his reservation last week and got in a spat with Musk about it.

Now that there is a definitive date for the Roadster unveiling, Musk and Co. should have a more definitive cutoff date for features and capabilities. Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen said earlier this year that when they showed Musk what they had done with the Roadster, the CEO encouraged them to do even more with it.

This delayed things further.

Musk also said he believes production would begin between 12 and 18 months after the unveiling, putting it out sometime in 2027.

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