Munro Live announced the upcoming teardown and analysis of the Made-in-Texas (MIT) Tesla Model Y, equipped with Tesla's 4680-type cylindrical battery cells.
The news was recently announced in an episode about the Tesla Model S Plaid and Tesla Model Y battery modules (see at 20:29).
Munro & Associates has already purchased a MIT Tesla Model Y in Florida, so it might be one of the units sold by Tesla from its existing inventory.
According to the video, the project will start right away with the new battery pack, which is the single biggest change applied to the car. Hopefully, the analysis will give us more info about Tesla's latest battery, which in the case of MIT Tesla Model Y is estimated at over 67 kWh (usable capacity).
Interestingly, some of the roughly 800 cells inside the pack will be available for sale - pre-orders are already being accepted, but the price is quite significant ($800 per unit). If we are not mistaken, sales of just 100 would more or less cover the purchase of the donor car, but of course, it's just part of the teardown total cost.
Tesla currently produces the 4680-type batteries in-house in the US, but as we know, there are also other suppliers preparing for series production. Panasonic already ships samples of the new cells and build production lines, LG Energy Solution announced a production line, and Samsung SDI is rumored to build a pilot line.
The new battery (structural pack, new cells) is of course not the only area of interest, as there are also things like megacastings in the front and rear as well as potential other innovations that have not yet been discovered.
Speaking of new things - Sandy Munro is bullish that we will see the removal of the battery pack out of the car, together with seats, which in the latest Model Y are attached to the top of the pack.
In terms of megacastings, an interesting related presentation will be about IDRA's giga presses at IDRA's plant in Italy. The one for the Tesla Cybertruck is expected to have a 9,000-ton capability.
