Tesla has filed for a $59 million diecast shop at Giga Texas, new filings show.
Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas is still moving closer to Cybertruck production, based on recent comments from Chief Vehicle Designer Franz von Holzhausen on the "Ride the Lightning" podcast.
As the facility is still being built out, more of the plant is taking shape, including buildings specifically tailored for certain tasks, like cathode production, for example.
After Tesla filed applications for more than $700 million in new buildings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the automaker has now filed a new application for a die shop at Gigafactory Texas.
The facility is set to be constructed near the eventual cathode building, Giga Texas drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer said when he discovered the die shop.
The building is set to be just over 107,000 square feet, and Tesla said in its it would begin construction Jan. 30. However, portions of the building’s structure are already being built. Its estimated completion date is Feb. 19, 2024.
The term “die” almost certainly relates to diecasting, which serves several purposes. Within automotive diecasting, there are stamping, plastics and casting subcategories, all of which Tesla is currently hiring for at various locations, including Giga Texas.
Tesla could be looking to use the die shop for manufacturing the dies that will go inside the IDRA Giga Press machines on site. IDRA, the Italian manufacturer that has supplied Tesla with various casting machines over the years, recently shipped a new 9,000-ton Giga Press to Tesla in Texas, and it is currently being built. Dies within press and casting machines wear out over time.
With Tesla’s hefty order log for its Cybertruck, the company could be looking to eliminate a portion of the manufacturing process that could be a potential hold-up production later on.
