Featured image: Tesla
The structure of a car is a critical component of its efficiency and performance. This is why Tesla is deeply focused on continuing to enhance its vehicles' structure. During Battery Day, the company announced that it will improve the design of its vehicles using a new battery architecture and a truly radical approach to manufacturing car parts.
To enhance the Model Y, Tesla created a giant casting machine that is able to produce the rear underbody frame of a car in one piece. This manufacturing process reduced the number of parts and reduced manufacturing costs by 40%.
Source: Tesla
And it recently became known that, in addition to the rear underbody, Tesla will also produce the Model Y's front underbody frame in one single piece. This will not only improve production efficiency and performance but also improve driver/passenger safety.
To make this possible, Tesla had to develop its own aluminum alloy. The company aimed to create a high-strength casting alloy that does not require coating or heat treatment. This is a big deal, as it is a very difficult feat in casting—especially for large, cast body parts.
Up to this point, there was no alloy in the world that could satisfy Tesla’s requirements. Therefore, its creation is a phenomenal achievement of the company's materials team. Elon Musk also said that Tesla has created many materials and alloys that did not exist before.
Tesla continues to improve the manufacturing process at all stages, from developing its own alloys to upgrading its factories. This results in the company being able to produce higher-quality vehicles with lower production costs. And ultimately, all of these benefits trickle down to the consumer.
Tesla is radically different from any other automaker in the world. Driven by its mission to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy, the company will not stop until it reaches its ultimate goal. This is what gives Tesla the strength and energy to continue improving and innovating.
© 2020, Eva Fox. All rights reserved.
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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
