Some more substance:
To OP:
1. I've seen videos of CNC machines making what appear to be very large stamping tools (or very large injection molding tools) - I would expect that tooling for the gigapress machines are made in a similar way. There are some *VERY* large mold/die making machines in the world.
(Some of the best videos I've seen are now disappearing stories on instagram which thwarts my posting a link.)
It isn't really a "mold machine" but Janicki in Sedro-Wooly at least had (likely still has) a milling machine that can make the mold plug for 70ft fibergalss boat in one setup. I saw it. I stood inside it. The walls of "the room" are the ways of the machine. (I would not *think* it would be suitable for stamping tools, but maybe?)
[Maybe some of the die-cast mold or stamping die folks know differently - but I've never seen any discussion of such tooling being cast]
Note that even if it was cast, somebody would still have to make the pattern...
2. One of the videos that Ries posted claims that Indra named the machine "giga" (not Tesla), and they make 12 a year. In other words, this was a technology you could buy (with lots of money and collateral resource) "off the shelf" .. (You do realize you can call up Aida and order a very large servo press, right? Mere money....)
3. Things like custom alloys aren't new, or unique to Tesla. You think Ford makes frame rails for pickups with generic stuff they buy from online metals? There are magazines like "modern stamping" (I think that's the title) and most of the content is about "steels" that bear little relationship to anything you find in the local yard. Names like "high strength low alloy" should give you a hint. Sometimes Aluminum or Titanium are better, and sometimes they are not. There are still applications in airplanes, boats, racecars (think infinite money), where *wood* is the best material.
4. I raced carbon fiber tubbed race cars for years (uh, half a decade actually... wow) - anyway - it can make a very light, VERY stiff car. That can be good. But damage repair can be quite a chore. Delamination is an issue you don't usually see in metal structures. When crashed, a carbon fiber tub may leave amazingly sharp slivers that are directly attracted to tires, fingers, and eyes. Any crash tends to leave nasty debris around, carbon fiber might make it worse. Given how often people hits things with cars now, having them leave more debris is maybe not a great plan.
5. The arguments about EV weight on roads aren't about peak weight. US law already in effect sets a limit of 80K lbs on 5 axles (truck included.) Bigger weights generally need a permit. This has to do wtih federal funding of *bridges*, and I've seen some docs call it the "bridge law".
EVs aren't really affected by that. But they will *on average* be heavier than a comparable ICE vehilce, due to battery weight alone. Which means average daily burden on the road surfaces will be higher. I'm not sure this matters given how heavy SUVs are and the regulatory pressures and market pressures for better energy use - so in 5 years the typical EV (likely a van or pickup) may not be any heavier than an ICE SUV would have been.
6. Most of the chassis technology in EVs is stuff that could be done in ICE vehicles, if it made sense. It's notable that lots of people love Teslas, but the best selling vehicle in the US is still ... the F150. For many people, a Tesla makes no more sense than a Ferrari...
The electric motors change some fundmanetal parts of design (in generally good ways), the battery size and weight change the design (in generally bad ways..) Fortunately, there is enourmous good old fashion capitalist pressure pushing for better batteries.
I think it is "too early" to be going electric, for most people. Little by little and then all at once.... So in say 3 or 5 years you might be able to buy a perfectly satisfactory van, pickup, is EV, for a price no worse than comparable things.
Remember, it was not soooo long ago that vans and pickups were almost always gas powered.
7. Environmental reality - the extremists who pray for the total number of cars to be reduced are in for total defeat outside out of a few areas. Electric cars will make people feel "more virtuous" (there is some evidence that electric vehicles are replacing bike commuting (!!!) in some places) - and more automation, let alone fully self driving, will make commutes more bearable. Money wins, money likes everybody having a Lot Of Stuff. Post covid changes will likely magnify this over time. (If you moved from downtown Seattle to Carnation, light rail is totally irrelevent, you will need a car, and maybe two. But the food is better and the dogs are friendly.)
It's worth noting a train with nobody in it is a *worse* environmental load than a car. Likewise a bus - but busses are very flexible. It's been known for decades that a bicycle has overwhelming energy efficiency, and while people including me love them, they've never mattered much for congestion. It's sad, because they're such lovely vehicles...
All that said, EVs are not so big a step up from ICE, except in local air quality. (You still have to make the EV - the mfg of the vehicle makes a big fraction of emissions. They still have tires. There has to be power plant somewhere. And someday we have to dispose of the batteries.) Of course, just as a large market means that car body recycling is a well developed thing, similar forces will apply to EV batteries. Eventually.
And yes, there really is a "war on cars" (there are web sites and podcasts with names like that) - but they are mainly talking about a few % of the area of the US, which hold a lot of people, but still a smallish fraction of total pop. And the solutions they favor (rail, mostly) cover a tiny area, which does not include the vast territories needed to feed and otherwise supply people. Apparently a number of rail transport systems in the US have *VERY* low ridership, and had such BEFORE covid.
There will be lots of vehicles, just like there will be lots of toilets and lots of beds.
Have A Nice Day
