General Motors has acquired Tooling & Equipment International (TEI), the company responsible for helping Tesla implement gigacasting, Reuters reports.
TEI is a company specializing in sand casting techniques and is considered to be one of the top sand casting specialists in the world. In 2017, it began assisting Tesla with development of Model Y vehicles, and later became involved with gigacasting mold prototyping for the Model 3, Cybertruck, and heavy-duty Semi truck.
When TEI was put up for sale last year, it received several bids, one of which was from GM. TEI had previously worked with GM as well, helping test and produce underbody castings for the Cadillac Celestiq EV around 2021.
Following work on the Celestiq, GM entered a guaranteed long-term agreement with TEI, who in turn invested in a new production line solely dedicated to the Celestiq. The castings on the Celestiq resulted in TEI winning the 2023 Casting of the Year award from the American Foundry Society.
On July 1, TEI joined GM's Global Manufacturing division, which is responsible for the automaker’s automobile and parts manufacturing operations.
Two sources that spoke with Reuters believe that GM paid less than $100 million for the purchase of TEI. One estimates that it was no more than $80 million. GM has said that TEI will remain as its own business, with GM as its parent company.
The move is said by insiders to be a big win for GM, with many others in the industry currently working to recreate Tesla’s gigacasting, such as Ford, Hyundai, and Toyota. What could take Tesla 18 to 24 months to develop from the ground up would take most of their rivals three to four years, and that knowledge is now in the hands of GM.
