Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas has been the slowest of the company’s newest vehicle assembly plants to ramp production.
While Gigafactory Berlin last month reached the production milestone of 1,000 Model Y electric crossovers per week, that is yet to happen in Austin due to 4680-type cells and structural pack ramp issues. As a reminder, Giga Texas is Tesla's only factory at the moment to build the Model Y featuring structural battery packs and 4680-type cylindrical cells.
That said, things appear to be improving in Austin, as a drone video shot by Joe Tegtmeyer shows. Based on his frequent monitoring of the Giga Texas, the drone pilot estimates that more than 100 Model Y vehicles leave the factory each day via transport trucks, and production seems to be exceeding that rate.
According to Tegtmeyer, production is now probably at 150 vehicles a day. If his estimate is correct, it would mean that the plant is getting close to producing 1,000 Model Ys a week.
"Model Y production ramp is hitting a new gear, and now is nearing 1,000 cars per week. Hopefully we will get official confirmation from Tesla about this soon! Car carriers are nearly constantly arriving and departing on-site now, yet production is easily keeping pace."
As always, these drone flyover videos of Tesla's Giga Texas are fascinating to watch, if only for the sheer size of this mega factory and the many things that are happening around it at any given moment during the day.
For example, Tegtmeyer notes that the battery cathode plant assembly site is progressing at breakneck speed, with almost 60% of the buiding's skeleton being completed and roof and decking installation being underway.
As part of the initial drone flight, we also get to see the entire roof of the massive vehicle assembly plant and its solar panel installation that will eventually read "TESLA." The video shows that on the north end, the expansion of solar panels continues just north of the letter "T," including more mounts, panels and inverters getting wired up.
Even if the plant is up and running and has been producing Model Y EVs since early April, it's amazing to see how much construction work is still left to be done to fully complete the gigantic project.
