Tesla China Produces Model Y Body Every 40 Seconds Per Report

Upgrades at Giga Shanghai, die-casting technology, and extreme localization are all part of Tesla's plan to streamline production.

Tesla Giga Shanghai - Model Y General Assembly (Tesla Q4 2020 report)

Steven Loveday

By: Steven Loveday

Jan 4, 2023 at 9:53am ET

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According to People's Daily, Tesla's incredibly efficient production practices at its Giga Shanghai electric vehicle factory in China makes it capable of cranking out a Model Y body-in-white in about 40 seconds on average.

Tesla just recently upgraded the assembly lines at its factory in China, which worked to significantly speed up production. In fact, the automaker wasn't even relying on producing at full speed toward the end of 2022 and was able to give its workers a few extra days off heading into the new year.

As you may know, Tesla uses massive "Giga casting" machines to streamline and speed up body production. The die-casting technology allows a car to be built with just a few large parts, and even the EV's battery pack can be built right into the vehicle's frame.

Tesla wasn't able to pull off its earlier guidance of 50 percent delivery growth from 2021 to 2022, though it nearly pulled off 50 percent manufacturing growth. Giga Shanghai has continued to break records throughout the year, not only supplying China with Tesla's EVs, but also functioning as the company's primary export hub.

Giga Shanghai produced its 1 millionth Tesla EV back in August 2022, which was a huge milestone and a major record for the automotive industry as a whole. Keep in mind, this was prior to the recent factory upgrades that allow a body-in-white to be manufactured about every 40 seconds.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has often reiterated that he believes the US EV maker's biggest edge over the competition is in manufacturing. The company has spent years reducing production steps, shaving off manufacturing time, and lowering costs significantly. During a time when most automakers are producing fewer vehicles than they were in the past, Tesla has dialed up production by around 50 percent two years in a row.

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To help facilitate such impressive production speeds, Tesla's Giga Shanghai has reached a localization rate of over 95 percent. The area supplies EV batteries, chips, advanced driver-assist systems, interiors, and more.