Elon Musk confirmed that the upcoming Cybertruck will use a 9,000-ton Giga press from to form the body shape of the vehicle, in response to a Twitter post.
In a video shared by Tesla superfan Sawyer Merritt, Italian manufacturer IDRA displays the assembly of one of their Giga Press machines used for creating die-cast parts. The CEO responded to the Tweet simply with the words “Cybertruck body” essentially confirming the news. Tesla already employs a number of the company’s presses to build its vehicles, but none of them can squish as good as this one can.
Read: Tesla Stops Taking Cybertruck Orders From Europe And China, But Continues In North America
Cybertruck body
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 31, 2022
IDRA itself hasn’t confirmed that Tesla is the client for this specific 9,000-ton press, but according to Teslarati, Musk has stated in the past that the Cybertruck’s rear bodywork would require at least an 8,000-ton press, a significantly higher amount of force required versus Tesla’s other vehicles. The need for 1,000 extra tons might have something to do with the redesign of the truck, or it could just be overbuilt to ensure reliability.
“We’re actually going to be using even bigger casting machines for the rear body of the Cybertruck because it’s a bigger vehicle and you’ve got a long truck bed that’s going to support a lot of load,” said Musk. “So we’ll be using an 8,000-ton casting press for the rear body casting as opposed to the 6,000-ton for the Model Y.”
Musk has also floated the idea of building a smaller, $25,000 vehicle using this type of manufacturing, but that project appears to be on hold while he decides whether or not he wants to buy Twitter.
The Cybertruck will be built at the brand’s Gigafactory in Austin Texas, starting in 2023. Musk has also previously stated that he wants to simplify the production of Tesla’s vehicles by building them like die-cast toys, using fewer large pieces instead of many small ones.
Seeing the press be built is neat, but it still doesn’t mean that the vehicle is going to make it to production on time. While it might be one of the most hotly anticipated cars in recent memory, it’s also been plagued with production delays and plenty of controversy.
Check out IDRA’s assembly video of their 9,000 ton Giga Press machine in the video below.