Tesla working on 'gigacasting' tech to mould underbody in one piece, Shanghai Securities News reports

A staff member attends to customers inside a Tesla Model Y car at a showroom of the U.S. electric vehicle (EV) maker in Beijing, China February 4, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

BEIJING, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) is working on an upgrade of its "gigacasting" technology to die cast almost all vehicle underbody parts in one piece, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Wednesday citing unnamed sources close to the automaker.

The state-owned Chinese newspaper, which based its report after a recent visit to Tesla's Shanghai factory, did not say when and where the upgrade will happen.

Reuters reported this month that Tesla was closing in on an innovation that would allow it to die cast nearly all of the underbody of an electric vehicle in one piece.

Tesla has pioneered the use of huge presses with 6,000 to 9,000 tons of clamping pressure to mould the front and rear structures of its Model Y in its "gigacasting" process that has slashed production costs.

At its Shanghai plant, Tesla's biggest worldwide, the company has been die casting the rear of the Model Y since 2020, which allowed it to cut related costs by 40%.

Chinese EV makers including Xpeng (9868.HK) and Geely's (0175.HK) Zeekr are following Tesla and have adopted "gigapressing" technology in their manufacturing to reduce the weight of the cars and lower costs, the Shanghai Securities News said.

Reporting by Zhang Yan, Albee Zhang and Bernard Orr; Editing by Edwina Gibbs

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