Photo: IDRA
Italian casting machine manufacturer IDRA is readying another 9,000-ton Giga Press machine, set to be shipped to Asia, according to a LinkedIn post from the company (via @TslaChan).
While the post doesn’t specifically say where the Giga Press will be headed, speculation is it seems a possible location would be Tesla’s Gigafactory Shanghai. The 9000t Giga Press shown in a video is painted in a red/orange hue, which are colors painted by Tesla’s existing Giga Press units from IDRA and also the electric automaker’s Kuka robots for making its cars.
Similar casting machines are used at multiple of Tesla’s plants, most recently including a Giga Press that was shipped to Texas for upcoming Cybertruck production.
The post was made on Monday and includes a video of the huge casting machine in action, showing the casting machine moving back and forth in the testing of the massive machine.
Tesla Cybertruck Giga Press Shown Off at IDRA Open House [PICS] https://t.co/7h1a0ZE6e7
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) June 8, 2022
Many commenting on the LinkedIn post raised questions about what company the Giga Press is for, with most seeming to suggest that it’s headed to Tesla.
Others questioned whether the Giga Press could be for a Model S and X production line at the Shanghai plant, while others wondered if it could be used for a more affordable, yet unreleased $25,000 USD Tesla model.
Automotive manufacturing expert Sandy Munro toured the IDRA Giga Press factory in Italy last summer, during which multiple officials from the company talked him through different casting machines including the ones built for Tesla.
