Toronto, Ontario — Tesla has reportedly stepped away from one-piece gigacasting technology, according to Reuters. Instead, the automaker will continue with the previously used three-piece method.
Last year, Reuters exclusively reported Tesla’s development of the small-vehicle platform manufacturing model, but the automaker recently announced that it will be halting its efforts.
Instead of aiming to create the entire underbody of a vehicle in a single piece, Tesla will reportedly continue casting vehicle underbodies in three pieces: two gigacasted front and rear sections and a midsection made of aluminum and steel frames to store batteries, inside sources told Reuters.
This three-piece method is largely the same as the one used for Tesla’s previous two models—the Model Y crossover SUV and the Cybertruck pickup.
Reuters further reported that “Tesla has not entirely abandoned the small-vehicle platform it has planned for the Model 2. Instead, it will move forward in developing a self-driving robotaxi on the same platform.”
While Tesla has stated in the past that gigacasting helps the automaker reduce costs over the long term, the process requires large initial investments and is time consuming to perfect from a manufacturing perspective.
