Tesla Might Start Deliveries of Model Y Made In Berlin With 4680 Batteries In Early 2021

According to anonymous sources who contacted Teslarati, Tesla might be planning to deliver made in Germany Model Y to customers in early 2021. If this comes to be true this would be the biggest surprise and the most fantastic ramp for any new Tesla product.

According to Elon Musk, the Model Y to be built in Gigafactory Berlin will incorporate several new technologies including all the breakthroughs announced at Tesla’s battery Day event. These include the new 4680 cells which have new anode chemistry, new cathode chemistry, a new cell size, a new tabless cell design, and a new manufacturing technique.

Elon Musk has also confirmed the Giga Berlin Model Y will also have single-piece front & rear casting, and a structural battery pack.

Tesla as per the company’s Q3 shareholder letter says production at Tesla Gigafactory Berlin will start in 2021. The letter doesn’t give any more details on the start of production. However, given all the new technologies Tesla is planning to bring out with the Berlin Model Y, Musk has cautioned there will be significant timeline risks.

Berlin will use 4680 cell with structural battery pack & front & rear single piece castings. Also, a new paint system. Lot of new technology will happen in Berlin, which means significant production risk. Fremont & Shanghai will transition in ~2 years when new tech is proven.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 7, 2020

According to Teslarati, they received a message from an individual who detailed a conversation he had with Tesla employees. This was after receiving a text message last week from Tesla that indicated his Model Y delivery would occur in December 2020. However, this ended up being a mistake and the company sent the individual a message saying it was meant to be for Model 3 reservation holders.

Again according to Teslarati, following this, an employee in the Netherlands, where the source resides, called and stated he should expect delivery of his Model Y in Q1 or Q2 and that the vehicle will be built at Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory.

One thing that might make this an error on the Tesla employee’s part may be the fact that Tesla plans to ship made in china Model Y to Europe. With the shanghai plant expected to start producing Model Y in December, Q1 delivery to Europe would make sense.

Related News: Tesla To Construct 623 Charging Stations Within Giga Berlin

At this moment Giga Berlin is working on the buildings for the production lines. After this is completed all the equipment that will eventually produce the batteries and vehicle has to be installed, tested, debugged, and finally ramp to its full capacity.

Elon Musk has even said speaking at Tesla’s Battery Day the company is on its 4th iteration of the dry electrode coating machine and it still doesn’t have good enough output and the company will be on the 6 iterations of the machine by the time the technology can be mass-produced.

On top of the battery and powertrain advancements, Elon Musk has also promised to bring online the most advanced paint shop in the Berlin Gigafactory. Saying cars from Giga Berlin will have more layers of stunning colors that subtly change with curvature.

Initial production at Giga Berlin is Model Y— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2020

For the revolutionary paint shop, Tesla has partnered with a company called Geico Teiki-Shai. This is a company based in Millan, Italy. According to its website, the company specializes in “turnkey solutions for auto body paint shop”. Meaning they work in every step of building a paint shop.

And some of the few breakthroughs the company highlights are. A 70% reduction in energy consumption, cutting down installation time for a new plant, 30% renewable energy use, and eliminating water waste.

All of the breakthroughs suggest, the paint shop in the Berlin Gigafactory, is going to be a new system but once fully ramped will be a fast-paced, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly plant.

Given all these new systems coming with the new Model Y if I had to guess I would say the Tesla employee made a mistake and the Model Y that will be delivered in Q1 is most likely from Giga Shanghai. Nevertheless, the Berlin Gigafactory is progressing at an incredible speed. According to Tesla, the shell of the factory is about to be completed and equipment move-in will happen in the next few weeks.

We will keep you posted on this story if more information comes out. And see Teslarati using the above link for more information about this topic.

So what do you think? Will Tesla complete Giga Berlin fast enough to produce Model Y by early 2021? Or do you think the Tesla employee got it wrong and these vehicles will be coming from Giga Shanghai? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below.

For more information check out: Panasonic Hints At Building Tabless 4680 Batteries For Tesla Also, see Elon Musk Thanks FSD Beta Testers And Emphasizes Importance Of Labeling In Video

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and The evolution of the EV space on a daily basis for several years. He covers everything about Tesla from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at
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