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Tesla Model Y body castings begin to stack up at Giga Texas

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Tesla Model Y castings are beginning to stack up in impressive numbers at the automaker’s Giga Texas plant just outside of Austin. A Snapchat video put up by someone on-site shows perhaps thousands of Model Y castings on the property as Tesla begins to work toward the initial production of the all-electric crossover.

Tesla Giga Texas is slated to begin production later this year, but that is not halting the automaker from starting the pre-production processes of vehicle manufacturing. A focus of Tesla since day 1, the company has always tried to make the manufacturing processes more streamlined through various production efficiencies. The most notable was the introduction of the Giga Press, a massive machine from Italian company IDRA that can cast the body of any of Tesla’s vehicles in a matter of a few seconds. The IDRA presses have been spotted on Giga Texas property in the past, and now it seems Tesla is putting them to work ahead of initial production.

The video was obtained by Teslarati through the Snapchat application, which allows users to scan a map and view Snaps from anywhere on Earth. After finding Giga Texas on the map and accessing the available public Snapchats, it was clear that Model Y castings are beginning to stack up in significant numbers as Tesla prepares to build hundreds of thousands of vehicles at the plant next year.

Tesla has been testing the manufacturing equipment at Giga Texas for several months. In late July, photographs of a Model Y chassis were posted to Reddit, showing a close-to-fully-fabricated body of the all-electric crossover. Some members of the community indicated that it was likely a test frame that was manufactured at the Fremont factory, which was then shipped to Giga Texas to use for calibrating the automated manufacturing machines at the plant. However, Tesla has also built fully-equipped pre-production units since late last month.

Tesla Giga Texas’ Model Y front megacast is as intimidating as it is revolutionary

Additional Model Y castings were seen in the back of a hauler on site, likely being transported to another portion of the Giga Texas property by Joe Tegtmeyer.

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Credit: @JoeTegtmeyer

In late August, Tesla was already building Model Y pre-production units at the factory. The pre-production phases are usually utilized by automakers to test the accuracy and efficiency of the machinery at the site, ensuring that it is ready for wide-scale operation.

Additionally, there were rumors of Cybertruck chassis also being present at the plant. While unconfirmed, an image of Cybertruck-shaped objects wrapped and concealed by covers gained a lot of traction, but it was never confirmed whether Tesla was building the vehicle ahead of its initial production phases, which have been pushed back to late 2022, according to Tesla’s online Design Studio.

Tesla plans to kick off production of Texas-built Model Ys later this year as the plant’s initial construction phases finally conclude.

Check out the video of Model Y casts below.

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla Service just made a simple change for iOS users that makes a big difference

The Live Activities will now provide owners with a quick view of the service status on their vehicle, including the expected arrival time of the repair technician, the actual arrival time, and the estimated completion time.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has improved the transparency and communication it has with customers when their vehicles are being serviced with a very simple addition to its app.

The addition will only impact iOS users as it utilizes Apple’s Live Activities feature, which is utilized for other Tesla features, most notably during Supercharging to alert owners of their state of charge, charging rate, session cost, and time remaining.

Now, Tesla is using the Live Activities feature of iOS to alert customers of the status of a repair through Service, something that definitely improves the overall interaction between the owner and the company.

The Live Activities will now provide owners with a quick view of the service status on their vehicle, including the expected arrival time of the repair technician, the actual arrival time, and the estimated completion time.

Credit: @robkten | X

It also uses Apple’s Dynamic Island for an even more streamlined look at repair status.

The change was first noticed by Not a Tesla App. Some owners have said that the change has been available for about two months, but we had also not noticed it until now.

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Tesla has been working to improve its Service division, especially over the past few months, as Raj Jegannathan, Vice President of IT/AI-Infra, Apps, Infosec, and Vehicle Service Operations, has revealed the company is working to make things easier for owners.

It is no secret that getting in touch with Tesla Service is easier said than done. In fact, CEO Elon Musk has even had to step up on X to get some issues resolved.

Elon Musk is stepping up for Tesla Service in a big way

But Tesla has done a good job of confronting the shortcomings, especially when it comes to communication between the Service Center and owners.

It started a pilot program at select service locations that shared local and regional leader contact information so customers could reach out if they had an issue with diagnostic, warranty, or estimate issues.

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Tesla also enabled an extended in-app messaging option, which gives owners 24 hours to contact Service regarding any complaints they might have. Previously, the messaging option was only available for two hours.

The small change made to utilize Live Updates gives Tesla owners the opportunity to peek at their Service status without being overly communicative and pestering employees. It’s a small change, but it’s a good one.

Unfortunately, it is not available for Android users quite yet.

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Tesla job postings seem to show next surprise market entry

The company has several job postings for various roles, including Associate Sales Manager, Advisors in Sales and Delivery, and Service Technicians.

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Credit: Felipe Marambio | LinkedIn

Tesla’s recent job postings on its Careers website seem to show its next market entry, and it is a bit of a surprise.

Moving forward, Tesla is basically looking to expand its footprint wherever possible. It has already made a major splash in various global markets, and it has managed to make its way to several regions where things were more difficult and delayed.

Most notably, this includes India, where Tesla just recently started operations.

However, the company is now looking to expand in the Western Hemisphere, and recent job postings from Tesla show that it has its eyes set on a new South American market: Colombia.

The company has several job postings for various roles, including Associate Sales Manager, Advisors in Sales and Delivery, and Service Technicians.

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The locations include Medellin and Bogota, two of Colombia’s most populated and important regions.

Tesla’s presence in South America is extremely limited, and if it decides to launch in Colombia in the coming weeks, it will only be the second country on the continent where the company has a dedicated presence.

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Tesla has only two Supercharger locations in all of South America, both in Chile, and both are located near Santiago, a major city situated in the center of the country. One major thing Tesla will need to do after launching in more countries across South America is to establish a more dedicated charging presence.

Tesla Superchargers follow Model 3 and Model Y to South American country

It is surprising Tesla has not tried to enter Argentina or Brazil, but demand has to be there, and South America is not necessarily a hotbed for electric vehicles.

However, last year saw significant growth in the market for EV demand, with a 187 percent increase year over year, led by Brazil and Uruguay. These statistics come from Bloomberg.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla Q3 deliveries could exceed expectations: Wolfe Research

“Q3 is poised to be a strong quarter,” the firm noted.

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) could deliver a stronger-than-expected third quarter, as per Wolfe Research, which stated that the EV maker’s vehicle deliveries could reach between 465,000 and 470,000 units this Q3 2025. 

Such results would represent a 22% increase from Q2, topping consensus estimates of 445,000. “Q3 is poised to be a strong quarter,” the firm noted.

U.S. and China demand

In the U.S., Wolfe attributed part of the volume lift to consumers accelerating purchases ahead of the expiration of a $7,500 federal EV tax credit. The firm is also optimistic about China’s deliveries, which the firm noted is trending above prior expectations. Wolfe estimated 165,000–170,000 deliveries in China for the third quarter, or about 10,000 more than its earlier forecast, as noted n a Yahoo Finance report.

The firm noted that these figures do not yet include meaningful contributions from the newly launched Model Y L. “We estimate 165-170k deliveries in Q3, or ~10k above our prior est,” Wolfe stated, though these volumes “largely do not reflect the recent launch of the Model Y L.”

Earnings outlook

Wolfe noted that it expects Tesla’s Q3 earnings per share to fall between $0.55 and $0.60, which is above the current consensus of $0.49 per share. The firm forecasts automotive gross margins, excluding regulatory credits, of about 16.5% to 17%. 

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Looking ahead, Wolfe warned that Q4 could prove more challenging due to U.S. demand being pulled forward by tax incentives. Still, Wolfe suggested that factors like stronger seasonal demand in China and Europe could become tailwinds that could help the company’s volumes in the fourth quarter. The ramp and rollout of the Model Y L and upcoming affordable models could also help bolster the company’s Q4 volumes.

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