Tesla Giga Texas Steps Towards Cybertruck Production With More Equipment Deliveries

By Simon Alvarez Teslarati

To say Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas is a busy site these days would be an understatement.

Per recent images and footage taken of the facility, Tesla’s Austin factory continues to be abuzz with activity, from construction to vehicle production to the installation of IDRA’s Giga Press machines.

In December, based on aerial images taken of the facility, it was revealed some parts of the Cybertruck’s 9,000-ton Giga Press from IDRA had been delivered to the plant. Recent images from the complex suggest deliveries of Giga Press parts have not stopped since.

This was particularly evident in recent photos taken by longtime drone operator and Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer, who has been chronicling the progress of the EV plant since its earliest days. A large number of Giga Press parts from IDRA could be seen being delivered to the factory. The parts seem massive, at least based on the containers used to transport them.

The parts from IDRA are particularly exciting since they would most likely be used for the Cybertruck’s 9,000-ton Giga Press to produce the all-electric pickup truck’s rear underbody. CEO Elon Musk has said the Cybertruck would be using a single-piece rear megacast, similar to the Tesla Model Y. But since it is a much larger vehicle than the Model Y, it needs a larger machine than the crossover’s alreadygigantic 6,000-ton Giga Press.

The drone operator also observed the pace of Giga Texas’ Model Y production appears to be increasing. A stream of the crossovers could be seen in photos around the facility. This is no surprise, especially considering Tesla is producing Model Ys with both 2170 cells and 4680 cells in Giga Texas.

Financing a new or used vehicle is growing more expensive than ever for consumers, according to the car shopping experts at Edmunds. New data from Edmunds reveals:

Interest rates are continuing to rise. The average annual percentage rate (APR) on new financed vehicles climbed to 6.5% in Q4 2022 compared to 5.7% in Q3 2022 and 4.1% in Q4 2021. The APR on used financed vehicles climbed to 10% in Q4 2022 compared to 9% in Q3 2022 and 7.4% in Q4 2021.

A greater share of consumers are committing to monthly payments of $1,000 or more. 15.7% of consumers who financed a new vehicle in Q4 2022 committed to a monthly payment of $1,000 or more—the highest it’s ever been— compared to 10.5% in Q4 2021 and 6.7% in Q4 2020. 5.4% of consumers who financed a used vehicle in Q4 2022 committed to a $1,000+ monthly payment—also a record high—compared to 3.9% in down payment for new and used vehicles hit record highs in Q4 2022, climbing to $6,780 and $3,921, respectively.

A growing share of luxury shoppers are turning their backs on leasing and choosing to