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Originally Posted by roflwaffle
It'll be expensive, but I don't think it has to break the bank. A quick search suggests the Y will be between $200 million and $600 million for tooling. Apparently lower volume tooling can also be less expensive with the trade-off of being less durable, but I couldn't find anything on how much less.
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The last CUV mid-cycle refresh I was involved in cost $600 million. That was a new front clip, some small changes to the rear, and a mild restyling of the interior that kept the same mechanics and structure.
Musk has announce the Y will be made at the gigafactory which doesn't build the Model 3 today. That means a whole new assembly line
Quote:
Originally Posted by roflwaffle
All things considered, I'm not sure how much the lines and tooling for the Y, Roadster, and Semi will cost, but Tesla has experience being involved in construction and can do at least some stuff in house. For instance one of their first acquisitions they made was a tool-and-die maker, so I wouldn't be surprised if they have some advantages in tooling costs.
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It costs more than $1 billion to tool a new semi. You need all of the part tooling plus a new cab-in-white, dash line, and chassis line. Telsa may need new paint line too, it just depends on if the original line was built to accommodate the size and with enough extra capacity.
Most companies I worked for that have internal tool-and die use them for tooling repair and maintenance. When a tool breaks you need it fixed ASAP and with an internal shop you can prioritize jobs as needed. Some have done new tooling in-house to but the cost was very close to outside bids.