Texas-Made Tesla Model Y With 4680 Battery Pack: Owner Walkaround

This is one of the first 1,700 Model Ys built at Gigafactory Texas and this owner is pretty happy with the choice he made.

Texas-made Tesla Model Y walkaround

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Dan Mihalascu

By: Dan Mihalascu

Jun 10, 2022 at 5:24am ET

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The Cyber Rodeo event in early April has marked the start of Model Y deliveries from Tesla's newest plant in Austin, Texas.

At the time, Elon Musk handed over the first made-in-Texas Tesla Model Ys to customers, but we haven't heard or seen much of these cars since.

That is no longer the case as Tesla appears to have ramped up customers deliveries from the new plant lately. One of these owners uploaded a video overview of his Austin-made Tesla Model Y, giving us a close look at his Standard Range Dual Motor AWD vehicle that features the 4680 battery cells assembled into a structural pack.

As you probably know, the Austin plant is Tesla's only one so far building cars with structural batteries, which is a pretty big deal. The automaker says the tabless 4680 cell lower the cost per kilowatt hour while the structural pack "greatly reduces the number of parts used in both the battery pack and the car," which allows Tesla to have a pack manufacturing line less than half the size of its other factories.

This particular Model Y owner, who runs a YouTube channel called Spoken Reviews, seems to be excited with his car, which is among the first 1,700 or so made at Giga Texas. He says there are no fit-and-finish issues with the vehicle, with all the panel gaps looking right and the paint appearing pretty smooth, too.

The owner takes a look at the sturdy cargo cover, which is a standard feature for Texas-made Model Ys and a welcome addition to the car as it's great for privacy and cabin noise reduction. This Model Y should also feature the cargo hooks, although they are not included in this video walkaround.

Inside the cabin, the Model Y made in Texas looks exactly the same as Model Ys made in Fremont, except for the carpet which reportedly goes up a little bit higher. The owner doesn't mention any build quality issues, so we assume he's happy with the way the interior was assembled.

What do you think?

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We also get a look at the car's sticker, which curiously makes no mention of the Model Y being a Standard Range model, simply calling it a Model Y AWD. The car is listed with a $39,990 base price while All-Wheel Drive appears as a $20,000 option.

This may indicate that Tesla plans to launch a $40,000 Model Y RWD model later on, but that's just speculation at this point. As for range, this Model Y has an EPA range rating of 279 miles (449 km). The owner notes that Tesla did not offer instructions about charging the vehicle to 100%.

Learn more about Texas-made Tesla Model Ys

A Visit To Tesla's Giga Texas To Spy On The New 4680 Model Y