MT Magazine May/June 2025

FEATURE STORY

THE EMERGING MARKETS ISSUE

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Camry (which is now hybrid-only, so you have to add in that system, too). So, it is simpler. And while it is more expensive (starting around $42,500 versus $28,700), from a utility point of view, it underperforms: The top range of a Model 3 is 363 miles compared to a Camry’s 663. But Tesla is completely changing how vehicles are designed, engineered, and produced, something that other global automakers – including Toyota – are following. The reason: the ability to improve profit margins by reducing manufacturing costs. And these changes apply to the production of any product, though not necessarily on a one-to-one basis: Adaptation to conditions is required. What Are You Trying To Accomplish? One of Tesla’s advantages – which might have seemed like a disadvantage – was that the company hadn’t made cars before. Change is challenging, and Tesla didn’t have decades of legacy that would feed into “we’ve always done it this way” thinking. Instead, the thinking used by Tesla is based on “first principles.” This essentially means you figure out what you are trying to accomplish and then use the simplest method to do it. One thing Tesla has revolutionized is building the structure of a vehicle (although there are vehicle manufacturers in China that have been doing this, too – and again, because these Chinese companies are generally new, they aren’t restricted in their approach by existing equipment and policies). Conventionally, many parts are stamped and welded (or otherwise fastened) to create a vehicle’s rear structure. Tesla engineers looked at the Model 3 and saw 171 parts in the front and rear structure. Making and assembling all those individual pieces is highly complex, from the tooling to the machinery to the logistics. Tesla decided to take an entirely different approach for the Model Y: “gigacasting.”

They cast the components with a machine that can move some 100 kg of molten aluminum into a die cavity in roughly 100 milliseconds and then applied over 6,000 tons of pressure. The 171 parts became two. Gigacasting is now used for other vehicles’ front and rear structures. (This has implications for equipment providers for companies like Telsa, ranging from suppliers of welding robots to those of metal-removal equipment. According to manufacturing expert Sandy Munro, CEO of Munro & Associates, for example, “the front Cybertruck casting has about 30 holes – top, bottom, and sides. All are square to each other, and most are cast holes.” He adds, “The amount of machining is minimal and consists mostly of drilling and spot-facing. Some of the tapped inserts are self-tapping directly into the cast holes.”) The point is not about the benefits of gigacasting. Rather, this is about looking at what is to be accomplished and how it might be done in a profoundly different way. Which brings us to a second change Tesla is making to the way vehicles are manufactured: “unboxed assembly.” You may be more familiar with this in the context of a “modular build.” In a traditional moving assembly line, a vehicle structure is built up sequentially, piece by piece (a “box” is built – think body-in-white – and then more parts are added). In the unboxed assembly approach, large subassemblies are simultaneously manufactured and then integrated. The classic assembly line is replaced by automatic guided vehicles. Consequently, the size of an assembly plant can be reduced by as much as 40%. This is not just a savings of bricks and mortar but all other costs associated with a facility, from energy to insurance. According to Mathew Vachaparampil, CEO of Caresoft Global, an engineering and automotive benchmarking The Assembly Line Works. But After 100 Years…