Tesla
Tesla is reportedly working towards an enhanced gigacasting, not just for the back of the car, but for the entire underbody. This giant casting would replace nearly 400 parts, streamlining the production process. A few years ago, when Tesla perfected the gigacasting for the back of the car, it stunned car manufacturers and laid the foundation to lower costs. Now, Tesla has best-in-class margins but they continue to innovate and take risks. The risky part about a casting of this size – and before going further, a casting is basically just a giant mold – is that if there are any imperfections in the mold, it can be very expensive to modify. And then if there is a design change, the mold is essentially useless.