Multiple developments took place today at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin, Texas. After almost a 1 month closure for upgrades, the Model Y production building has restarted.
On the other side of Giga Texas, Tesla reportedly manufactured the closest-to-production Cybertrck prototypes. According to employee sources via local observer Joe Tegtmeyer, these new prototypes are called “Master Candidates” instead of the Release Candidates that we saw earlier (drone video below).
Model Y Production Restart
A “Welcome Back Giga Texas” banner was raised outside the Model Y building to greet Tesla employees coming back to work after about a month. The factory was shut down due to needed upgrades and re-tooling of the production lines at Giga Texas.
As Tesla put a halt to Model Y production at Giga Texas and employees were given off for weeks, the automaker removed the base variant of the Model Y from its online car configurator.
Although employees returned to work today, they need to get acquainted with the re-tooled and upgraded Model Y production lines. Tesla still hasn’t made the base Model Y AWD made with the 4680-cells and structural battery pack available for sale again.
However, as the factory opened today, two Tesla Model Y body-in-white (BIW/body frames) were spotted in the open during the drone video coverage by Joe. One of these is the legacy Model Y that comes with the 2170 cells, the other BIW is of the 4680-cell & structural battery based (the one with the blank floor as the seats are integrated with the structural battery pack and installed as one unit [pictured above]).
It hasn’t been 24 hours since the Giga Texas Model Y factory has re-opened. So, it will be too early to say which version of the vehicle Tesla is preparing to produce at this location. In our last report of Gga Texas and Model Y, we saw a lot of new equipment arriving at the 4680-cell production facility. Tesla is rumored to be in the process of upgrading the 4680 cells to next-gen V2 as well.
Cybertruck Master Candidate
Tesla has internally coined the term “Master Candidate” for the final Cybertruck prototypes. As we can see in the pictures and aerial videos below, these new and fresh off-the-assembly-line Cybertrucks look much more fine-tuned in terms of overall fit and finish. The body also looks shinier, perhaps Tesla applied more buff to the stainless steel of these Cybertrucks.
The previous generation prototypes are called Release Candidates, these Cybertrucks prominently marked with RC_Engineering Prototypes are sighted in California as they perform testing and validation including off-road testing.
Tesla is validating the tooling and production lines with the Master Candidate Cybertrucks, according to employee sources. This will enable Tesla to produce customer-delivery Cybertrucks with minimum technical and fitness issues.
Joe Tegtmeyer spotted two of these Master Candidates outside Giga Texas. One of these was sitting in the parking lot of the factory and the other one was getting charged at the Giga Texas Supercharger.
These new developments further strengthen the rumors of Tesla Cybertruck deliveries starting in October. Tesla has already started working on the Cybertruck Delivery Event invitations by updating the Referral Program.
