Once any chemistry issues are worked out then changing an existing 2170 battery production line to 4680 will take about two months.

The front and rear gigacasting and the structural battery pack will be able to make the rolling frame. It could be possible to add the top inside structural body in black from a casting system. It would then be possible to finish the car body with snap on plastic panels.

The casting takes milliseconds. The cast then needs to cool and then have some minor finishing work. This makes the casting process faster, almost no labor and it produces a perfect product. The old welding hundreds of parts together is slower, labor intensive and takes huge effort to get a quality product.

Sandy does not believe other car makers will follow Tesla into casting. Engineers and technicians who make a choice between what is better for the car versus what is better for their career will choose their career.