Tesla Model Y Production Ahead of Schedule Thanks to Impressive Assembly Consolidation

Tesla posted its Q4 earnings report on January 29. The revenue of the American automaker exceeded analysts' estimates, because it was ahead of Wall Street's estimates for car deliveries.

Revenue rose to $7.38 billion from $7.23 billion a year earlier. Analysts had expected revenue of $7.02 billion.

In addition to the financial report, the note indicated details that relate to the production of Model Y. Tesmanian previously reported that On January 9, 2020, Model Y received CARB certification, and on January 15, 2020, VIN Model Y was officially registered on the VIN NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) decoder website. This has led to suspicions that this model will be put into production in the near future, far ahead of schedule.

According to the report, Model Y is already in production at the Fremont factory and its deliveries will begin by the end of the first quarter of 2020.

"Production ramp of Model Y in Fremont has begun, ahead of schedule. Model 3 production in Shanghai is continuing to ramp while Model Y production in Shanghai will begin in 2021."

Source: Tesla Report for the Q4 and FY2019

The production ramp of Model Y started in January 2020. Together with Model 3, our combined installed production capacity for these vehicles is now 400,000 units per year. The ramp of Model Y will be gradual as we will be adding additional machinery in various production shops. After such expansions are done by mid-2020, installed combined Model 3 and Model Y capacity should reach 500,000 units per year. We will start delivering Model Y vehicles by the end of Q1 2020.

It should be noted that the acceleration of the production of Model Y was due to the fact that Tesla switched to aluminum casting, instead of stamping a large number of parts. The automaker plans to switch to casting from 70 parts to 4, and then to 1.

Wow... is the entire rear structure of the Model Y a single casting?

I almost wonder if Elon specifically included a closeup picture of it specifically to mess with other manufacturers ;) pic.twitter.com/nyXfG7KDmp

— Nafnlaus (@enn_nafnlaus) January 30, 2020

Impressive to see a topology optimized generative design and 70 part assembly consolidation into a single part in a mainstream vehicle through a casting. Don’t think any other OEM has ever had the balls to do this. Congrats @elonmusk 🚀🇺🇸 https://t.co/dd5I94M2aC

— Ric Fulop 🚀 (@ricfulop) January 30, 2020

"We're moving to an aluminum casting instead of a series of stamped pieces. We'll go from 70 parts to 4, then 1 with a reduction in weight, improvement in MBH, reduction in cost, and a significant drop in capital expenditure for all the robots that used to put 70 parts together"

"We're moving to an aluminum casting instead of a series of stamped pieces. We'll go from 70 parts to 4, then 1 with a reduction in weight, improvement in MBH, reduction in cost, and a significant drop in CapEx for all the robots that used to put 70 parts together" –– @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/iiJSTNramw

— Third Row Podcast (@thirdrowtesla) January 30, 2020

In addition to using new technologies in the production of Model Y, Tesla also improved the car battery. Due to continued engineering progress of the Model Y all-wheel drive (AWD), they have been able to increase its maximum EPA range to 315 miles, compared to it previous estimate of 280 miles. This extends Model Y's lead as the most energyefficient electric SUV in the world.

We are confident that investors have every reason to expect strong sales from Tesla Model Y. CEO Elon Musk expects Model Y's sales to exceed Model 3's sales over time. He said he expects annual demand for Model 3 and Model Y will be about 750,000 and 1.25 million units, respectively.

In addition, Model Y is a very attractive offer for potential customers. The long-range dual-motor version sells for just $ 54,000. In addition, a $3,000 upgrade could add a third row of seats to the car.

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Featured image: Tesla