According to media reports, General Motors recently acquired a key supplier of Tesla, Tooling& Equipment International (TEI) has been helping Tesla promote integrated die casting technology for many years.
On July 1st, TEI officially became a part of General Motors' global manufacturing department, which is responsible for all of General Motors' automotive and component manufacturing businesses, according to insiders. It is reported that the cost of General Motors acquiring TEI is less than $100 million, and an insider even estimated that General Motors spent up to $80 million.
General Motors has confirmed that it has acquired TEI, and the company responded by saying, "General Motors acquires TEI to enhance its innovative product portfolio and ensure access to unique casting technology." General Motors stated that TEI will remain an independent commercial entity, with General Motors serving as its parent company.
Introducing TEI to General Motors is the company's decades of casting experience and provides a strategic casting competitive advantage for future small volume products such as Cadillac Celestiq, "General Motors said in a statement
Will Tesla lose its advantage?
Integrated die-casting is a technology created by Tesla, which has the advantage of saving a lot of time and cost by integrating body components.
Previously, media reports reported that Tesla has made significant technological breakthroughs in integrated die-casting, which is the core of Tesla's "open-box process" and will be the key to Tesla's production of tens of millions of affordable electric vehicles and profitability plan in the next decade. Through this breakthrough, Tesla can die-cast almost all the complex chassis parts of electric vehicles into one unit, rather than just about 400 components.
According to insiders, TEI and three other companies are key reasons why Tesla can lead its peers in the field of integrated casting. With the advantages brought by this technology, Tesla can now develop a car within 18 to 24 months and save a lot of costs. And most competitors may take three to four years to achieve this at present.
TEI mainly uses 3D printed sand technology to produce low-pressure aluminum prototype castings, and is considered one of the top sand casting companies in the industry.
It is reported that TEI began assisting Tesla in the development of Model Y around 2017, and subsequently participated in the prototype production of molds for Model 3, Cyberrack, and Semis.
Insiders say that after losing TEI, Tesla will become more reliant on three other casting companies. At the same time, Tesla is urgently seeking another casting company to fill the gap in TEI, and has even explored this technology internally to reduce dependence on external suppliers.
Except for General Motors, industry giants including Ford, Hyundai, and Toyota are all catching up with Tesla in integrated die-casting.