Tesla has started building the Model Y at its Gigafactory located near Shanghai, China.
While the car manufacturer itself has yet to officially confirm the news, drone footage from the factory shows dozens of freshly-produced Model Ys at the factory. This footage comes after Tesla asserted that it was planning to begin producing the Model Y in Shanghai in early 2021. Evidently, it’s kicked things off a little earlier than that.
The first Model Ys built at the factory are believed to be delivered to local Tesla employees, likely in a bid to ensure the automaker can iron out any quality control issues before commencing deliveries to the wider public.
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Model Ys produced in Shanghai are thought to be largely the same as those currently being built at Tesla’s main factory in Fremont, California. By comparison, European-market Model Ys that will be produced in Berlin will feature new front and rear single-piece castings and, more importantly, utilize the company’s new ‘4680’ battery cells that are said to achieve five times more energy capacity while also improving range by 16 per cent. These battery cells are unique in that they are tabless, meaning Tesla has removed the tab that is usually used to form a connection between the cell and what it is powering.
The Model Y is expected to be the company’s best-selling model in China. In fact, one analyst has suggested that Tesla could sell as many as 30,000 units per month once sales of the entry-level variant start.