Gigapress Assures Tesla Of Higher Profits On Electric Cars

How does Tesla achieve industry-leading profit margins on electric vehicles?

Photo Insert: IDRA is one of a handful of companies with the patents and technology to make gigapresses – and its machines are the ones Tesla is using.

One part of the answer is found in Travagliato, Italy, where machinery maker IDRA Group builds giant casting machines that can form aluminum into one-piece chunks of a vehicle’s underbody, replacing about 60 smaller components, Reuters Auto File reported.

Gigapresses can cut body assembly costs by as much as 40% - essential when automakers have to offset the burden of expensive batteries. There are tradeoffs: Some automakers are wary of creating one-piece body structures that are difficult or impossible to repair after a collision.

But with battery costs stuck at high levels, and consumers demanding lower-priced EVs, something has to give. Slashing the costs of manufacturing and assembling scores of small parts is one way to get the savings required.

IDRA is one of a handful of companies with the patents and technology to make gigapresses – and its machines are the ones Tesla is using. An IDRA executive tells Reuters business is very good, indeed.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic