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Tesla Model Y manufacturing improvements highlighted in published patent application

Tesla's next-gen Roadster and the Model Y at the 2019 Annual Shareholder Meeting. (Photo: Vincent Yu/Twitter)

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In an effort to continue streamlining its manufacturing process, Tesla has developed a new vehicle frame casting machine. The specifics are described in a patent application published on July 18, 2019 titled, “Multi-Directional Unibody Casting Machine for a Vehicle Frame and Associated Methods.” CEO Elon Musk previously referred to such a machine that was under development during his conversation with Ryan McCaffrey of the Ride the Lightning podcast in June. His comments at the time were in reference to manufacturing improvements being made specifically for Model Y production.

“There are some manufacturing improvements for the [Model] Y. The rear underbody we’re moving to an aluminum…casting instead of a series of stamped steel and aluminum pieces,” Musk revealed in the interview. “When we get the big casting machine, it’ll go from 70 parts to 1 with a significant reduction in capital expenditure on all the robots to put those parts together.”

As described, Tesla’s new casting machine will have a central hub to receive several dies that are assembled into specific portions of a vehicle frame before being cast. The dies can transform into multiple configurations along the X, Y, and Z axis, essentially forming into numerous part molds. Further suggested by the patent application is that a full car frame may be made with a single cast using these transforming capabilities.

Casting molds are common in car manufacturing; however, single part molds are often what’s used, and bolts and welding are then subsequently required. A single casting machine configurable for several parts has many advantages, including reduced build time, operation costs, manufacturing costs, factory footprint, tooling costs, and equipment quantity. Using a casting machine for the Model Y will also reduce the weight of the all-electric crossover, according to Musk. Battery efficiency will be positively impacted by a lighter vehicle with only an 8-10% impact on range expected in the Model Y when compared to the Model 3.

Anticipation for the Model Y is building despite few details being revealed by Tesla since its unveiling in March. During the California-based car maker’s annual shareholder meeting this year, a red working prototype of the vehicle was on display alongside a next generation Roadster and a Tesla Semi, both also red. Prior to the event, only blue and white versions had been revealed, the blue having been used for test drives at its unveiling.

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The manufacturing location for the Model Y also has yet to be announced, although Tesla’s Fremont factory looks to be the most likely candidate. Production is still anticipated for 2020.

Accidental computer geek, fascinated by most history and the multiplanetary future on its way. Quite keen on the democratization of space. | It's pronounced day-sha, but I answer to almost any variation thereof.

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Tesla takes first step in sunsetting Model S and X with drastic move

Tesla won’t be taking custom orders of the Model S or Model X in Europe any longer.

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Credit: @supergeek18 | X

Tesla has seemingly taken the first step in sunsetting two of its older vehicles, the Model S and Model X, by ending international orders.

The flagship sedan and SUV from Tesla are the two oldest cars in the company’s lineup. They account for a very small portion of overall sales, and several years ago, CEO Elon Musk admitted that Tesla only continues to build and sell them due to “sentimental reasons.”

Earlier this year, there were calls for Tesla to end the production of the two cars, but Lars Moravy said that the Model S and Model X were due to get some love later in 2025. That happened, but the changes were extremely minor.

Tesla launches new Model S and Model X, and the changes are slim

Some took this as an indication that Tesla has kind of moved on from the Model S and Model X. A handful of people seemed to think Tesla would overhaul the vehicles substantially, but the changes were extremely minor and included only a few real adjustments.

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In Europe, customers are unable to even put a new order in on a Model S or Model X.

We noticed earlier today that Tesla pressing the ‘Order’ button on either of the flagship vehicles takes you to local inventory, and not the Design Studio where you’d configure your custom build:

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Tesla simply does not make enough Model S or Model X units to justify the expensive logistics process of shipping custom orders overseas. It almost seems as if they’re that they will essentially build a bunch of random configurations, send them overseas every few months, and let them sell before replenishing inventory.

Inversely, it could also mean Tesla is truly gearing up to sunset the vehicle altogether. It seems unlikely that the company will fade them out altogether in the next couple of years, but it could absolutely think about ending international orders because volume is so low.

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Energy

Tesla inks multi-billion-dollar deal with LG Energy Solution to avoid tariff pressure

Tesla has reportedly secured a sizable partnership with LGES for LFP cells, and there’s an extra positive out of it.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has reportedly inked a multi-billion-dollar deal with LG Energy Solution in an effort to avoid tariff pressure and domesticate more of its supply chain.

Reuters is reporting that Tesla and LGES, a South Korean battery supplier of the automaker, signed a $4.3 billion deal for energy storage system batteries. The cells are going to be manufactured by LGES at its U.S. factory located in Michigan, the report indicates. The batteries will be the lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, chemistry.

Tesla delivers 384,000 vehicles in Q2 2025, deploys 9.6 GWh in energy storage

It is a move Tesla is making to avoid buying cells and parts from overseas as the Trump White House continues to use tariffs to prioritize domestic manufacturing.

LGES announced earlier today that it had signed a $4.3 billion contract to supply LFP cells over three years to a company, but it did not identify the customer, nor did the company state whether the batteries would be used in automotive or energy storage applications.

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The deal is advantageous for both companies. Tesla is going to alleviate its reliance on battery cells that are built out of the country, so it’s going to be able to take some financial pressure off itself.

For LGES, the company has reported that it has experienced slowed demand for its cells in terms of automotive applications. It planned to offset this demand lag with more projects involving the cells in energy storage projects. This has been helped by the need for these systems at data centers used for AI.

During the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja confirmed that the company’s energy division had been impacted by the need to source cells from China-based suppliers. He went on to say that the company would work on “securing additional supply chain from non-China-based suppliers.”

It seems as if Tesla has managed to secure some of this needed domestic supply chain.

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Lifestyle

Tesla brings perhaps the coolest interior feature to cars in latest update

Tesla adds on to the “fun” aspect of its vehicles.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has brought perhaps the coolest interior feature to its cars in a new update that is rolling out to vehicles now.

The feature will require a newer vehicle that has interior ambient lighting, which is present on the new Model S, Model X, Model 3 “Highland,” and Model Y “Juniper.” The Cybertruck also has ambient lighting strips throughout.

Tesla Model Y’s ambient lighting design changes revealed in leaked video

With the Version 2025.26+ Software Update, Tesla is rolling out a new “Sync Accent Lights w/ Music” feature, which is available on the Tesla Toybox:

To enable the feature, you’ll access the Toybox, choose “Light Sync,” and then choose “Sync Accent Lights w/ Music.”

Although it does not improve the performance of the vehicle, it is yet another example of Tesla making one of the coolest cars out there. This is truly a cool add-on that can be used to impress your friends and family.

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