March 29, 2024

noussommeslesrepublicains

business is good for you

Tesla is quickly ramping up its ability to make cars, trucks, SUVs, batteries, and solar panels. Take a closer look at its master plan.

5 min read
Tesla is quickly ramping up its ability to make cars, trucks, SUVs, batteries, and solar panels. Take a closer look at its master plan.

A rendering of Tesla's forthcoming Gigafactory near Berlin, Germany.
A rendering of Tesla’s forthcoming Gigafactory near Berlin, Germany.

Tesla

  • Tesla is rapidly growing its worldwide manufacturing footprint.

  • The company is operating factories in California, Nevada, New York, and China.

  • A new plant is under construction in Germany, and Tesla just announced another factory will be built near Austin, Texas.

  • In just a few years, Tesla has become a global manufacturing juggernaut, supporting its goal of becoming the biggest provider of sustainable transportation and energy.

  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

I can remember a time when Tesla barely made any cars. That was back in 2010, when it had just taken over a former GM-Toyota plant near San Francisco. The only car for sale was the original Roadster, and just a few thousand had hit the road.

Fast forward to 2019, and Tesla had sold 250,000 vehicles in a single year, with the goal of doubling that total in short order.

The company’s growth is accelerating, but to satisfy demand for new and existing products, and to reach global markets more directly and at lower cost, it’s rapidly expanding its manufacturing capability. Four factories could be six in two years, as plants in Germany and Texas come online. 

The scale that this expansion provides could enable Tesla to become more solidly profitable. But it could also increase the company’s already huge lead over its EV competition. 

Here’s a closer look at how all these factories fit into the master plan, which goes beyond just cars:

Let’s start with Tesla’s factory in Fremont, CA, on the east side of San Francisco Bay.

A Tesla Model S is parked in front of the carmaker's Fremont, California, factory.
A Tesla Model S is parked in front of the carmaker’s Fremont, California, factory.

Paul Sakuma/AP

Tesla bought the plant in 2010, after General Motors went bankrupt and slimmed down its assets. In a previous life, the factory was called New United Motor Manufacturing (NUMMI) and was jointly operated by GM and Toyota.

An undated photo of the New United Motor Manufacturing (NUMMI) plant.
An undated photo of the New United Motor Manufacturing (NUMMI) plant.

REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

The factory has been humming away for a decade; it has a production capacity of 500,000, but thus far Tesla has only managed about half of that.

Tesla Factory
Tesla Factory

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

Currently, Fremont builds the Model S …

Tesla Model S.
Tesla Model S.

Tesla

… The Model X …

Tesla Model X.
Tesla Model X.

Tesla

… The Model 3 …

Tesla Model 3.
Tesla Model 3.

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

… And the Model Y. There’s also a battery-making facility on site. The factory is the only car plant in California that’s operational.

Tesla Model Y.
Tesla Model Y.

Tesla

Musk had said that in the future, Fremont could continue to make the Model S and Model X for US and global markets, as well as manufacture the new Roadster, a forthcoming redesign of Tesla’s first car.

Elon Musk presents the new Tesla Roadster.
Elon Musk presents the new Tesla Roadster.

Tesla

Tesla’s second factory was the massive Gigafactory 1, near Reno, NV. This is where Tesla has partnered with Panasonic to manufacture battery cells, of which the company needs many.

Tesla's Gigafactory 1, near Reno, NV.
Tesla’s Gigafactory 1, near Reno, NV.

Reuters

In addition to battery packs for its vehicles, those cells are used for Tesla’s energy business — which sells both residential and utility-grade equipment.

A Tesla Powerwall energy storage unit is seen in this picture.
A Tesla Powerwall energy storage unit is seen in this picture.

Tesla

Tesla also has a factory in Buffalo, NY.

The Tesla factory in Buffalo, NY.
The Tesla factory in Buffalo, NY.

Brendan McDermid / Reuters

This plant makes Tesla’s Solar Roof product.

tesla solar roof
tesla solar roof

Tesla

We just learned that Tesla’s new US Gigafactory will be in the Austin, TX area. It sounds as though this plant could be as big as Fremont.

austin texas
austin texas

Roschetzky Photography / Shutterstock

Giga Austin will make the Cybertruck pickup …

Tesla Cybertruck.
Tesla Cybertruck.

Tesla

… The Tesla Semi …

Tesla Semi.
Tesla Semi.

Alexandria Sage/Reuters

… And the Model 3 …

Tesla Model 3.
Tesla Model 3.

Tesla

… And Model Y for the eastern half of the US.

Tesla Model Y.
Tesla Model Y.

Tesla

Tesla’s newest factory is in Shanghai. Unlike most other foreign automakers, Tesla owns this plant; since the 1990s, other automakers have entered into joint ventures with Chinese companies.

The Tesla factory in Shanghai, China.
The Tesla factory in Shanghai, China.

Tesla

Tesla has been building the Model 3 in Shanghai and is preparing to ramp up Model Y production; last week, the company showcased some of the multimillion-dollar industrial robots it has installed.

Tesla Giga Shanghai
Tesla Giga Shanghai

Tesla

The first Model 3s have been rolling off the assembly lines already.

A Tesla Model 3 at the carmaker's assembly plant in Shanghai, China.
A Tesla Model 3 at the carmaker’s assembly plant in Shanghai, China.

REUTERS/Yilei Sun

In 2021, according to Tesla, the Model Y will join the Model 3 at the Shanghai plant.

Tesla Inc's Model Y electric sports utility vehicle is pictured in this undated handout photo released on March 14, 2019.
Tesla Inc’s Model Y electric sports utility vehicle is pictured in this undated handout photo released on March 14, 2019.

Tesla Motors/Handout via Reuters

Tesla is also constructing yet another Gigafactory near Berlin.

Site of future Tesla factory.
Site of future Tesla factory.

Photo by Paul Zinken/picture alliance via Getty Images

That plant should commence Model 3 and Model Y assembly in 2021.

Model Y
Model Y

Matt Debord/Business Insider

The bottom line here is that Tesla has gone from a one-factory automaker building just one car in 2012 to a global force with a growing manufacturing footprint in 2020.

Elon Musk stands next to a Tesla Model S outside the Tesla plant in Fremont, CA, in 2011.
Elon Musk stands next to a Tesla Model S outside the Tesla plant in Fremont, CA, in 2011.

Flickr/ Maurizio Pesce

So what does that mean? Beyond Tesla becoming the world’s largest manufacturer of electric vehicles — and establishing a near-monopoly in that admittedly still-small market — it indicates that Tesla is making good on its promise to be a sustainable mobility and energy company.

All these factories should enable Tesla to create significant industrial scale for EVs, batteries, and solar products. Over time, that should lead to economies of scale, as well, and empower the company to vindicate its very elevated market capitalization, now some $300 billion. (That’s more than GM, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles combined —and more than Toyota, making Tesla the world’s most financially valuable automaker.)

Bear in mind that this much manufacturing expansion also means debt and spending, at 2020 prices. By contrast, Ford is still operating factories that were bought and paid for before World War II. 

But also bear in mind that Tesla intends to pursue more aggressive automation of these new factories, so it could make them pay for themselves much faster than carmakers have with older plants.

What’s clear is that Tesla’s master plan has begun to occupy some serious worldwide real estate. It’s impossible to avoid how impressive this development is — and how much of a contribution it could make to Tesla’s future.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Source Article

noussommeslesrepublicains.org | Newsphere by AF themes.