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Highlights from Tesla’s Gigafactory Media Event
Tesla kicked off its Gigafactory Tour on Tuesday, July 26 with a media event. We’re providing the best curated Tweets from today’s event followed by a live Tweet from the official Gigafactory Grand Opening party scheduled for this Fiday, July 29.
Follow us on Twitter and join us Live from the Tesla Gigafactory!
July 25: Tesla Gigafactory Media Event (Pacific Time):
- 12:00-12:30 PM: Arrival at the Gigafactory and intro
- 12:30- 2:30 PM: Exterior and Interior tours
- 3:00-4:00 PM: Remarks and Q&A with Elon Musk and JB Straubel
- 4:15/30 PM: Shuttle departs Gigafactory
We’ll provide an update in a follow up post with results from the Q&A
Elon Musk and JB Straubel take the stage for Q&A
Alongside Elon and JB is an executive from Panasonic.
Elon Musk just arrived to talk Gigafactory pic.twitter.com/URTSoMP6e2
— Marco della Cava (@marcodellacava) July 26, 2016
Q&A with Elon Musk & JB Straubel coming up
Tesla #gigafactory tour complete. Now awaiting Elon Musk and JB Straubel. Musk running a bit late we are told. pic.twitter.com/pl5Z6LcCA4
— Marco della Cava (@marcodellacava) July 26, 2016
Tesla Gigafactory robots in action
https://twitter.com/danielsparks/status/758058708895092736
https://twitter.com/danielsparks/status/758058583426682880
Top 6 tidbits about Tesla’s Gigafactory revealed through building permits
Tesla continues its expansion on the Gigafactory as seen at outer areas of the main plant where steel construction beams are being put into place.
Section B Prime of Tesla #gigafactory – only a few days into construction as pace here quickens pic.twitter.com/3E69qgVUGM
— Marco della Cava (@marcodellacava) July 26, 2016
Tesla describes their relationship with Panasonic
Media was chaperoned to a no-photography-allowed section within the plant that housed proprietary equipment from Panasonic.
https://twitter.com/ByBenSpillman/status/758048060077289472
https://twitter.com/ByBenSpillman/status/758061212345085952
Tesla is already assembling Powerwall units
Inside Tesla's #gigafactory – where Tesla Powerwall battery storage units are now being built. pic.twitter.com/PpAAdKSF9C
— Marco della Cava (@marcodellacava) July 26, 2016
Area within the Gigafactory where battery cells will be produced
https://twitter.com/danielsparks/status/758044716273315841
Water treatment facility located on the east side behind the main entrance to the Gigafactory
https://twitter.com/ByBenSpillman/status/758038584393732096
The Gigafactory looks small by comparison to its expansive surroundings
https://twitter.com/danielsparks/status/758036769904263168
Tesla’s Gigafactory occupies a relatively small footprint within the overall 3200 acres of land purchased
- Tesla Gigafactory, July 24, 2016
- A newly perched white tent is seen near the entrance to the Gigafactory
This is just 20% of total #Gigafactory. 1.9 million sq feet of planned 10M = 107 football fields pic.twitter.com/kp9uteZMrN
— Marco della Cava (@marcodellacava) July 26, 2016
Miniature models of the Gigafactory office space and production floor
https://twitter.com/danielsparks/status/758039972121186304
A model of the Gigafactory is seen in the lobby showing robots in action on the production floor.
A “you are here” label reveals that the current size of the Gigafactory is only 14% of what it will ultimately be.
Model of Tesla #gigafactory production floor pic.twitter.com/Y5sToPJZKy
— Marco della Cava (@marcodellacava) July 26, 2016
https://twitter.com/ByBenSpillman/status/758021392272986112
Entrance to the Gigafactory
Tesla CEO Elon Musk will address reporters here at #gigafactory later today. Stay with @usatodaytech pic.twitter.com/fT95tZOeEy
— Marco della Cava (@marcodellacava) July 26, 2016
Tesla giving test drives in a Model S P90D before taking groups to tour the interior of the Gigafactory
Killing time before exterior tour at Tesla #gigafactory with test "flights" of Model S pic.twitter.com/HFKRr8pu4t
— Marco della Cava (@marcodellacava) July 26, 2016
Greeted by a beautiful Tesla Model 3 at the entrance of the Gigafactory
https://twitter.com/danielsparks/status/758020744747941888
Media making a pitstop at the security gate on Electric Avenue before heading into the Gigafactory
https://twitter.com/danielsparks/status/758015650560249856
New aerial photos of the Gigafactory taken on Sunday, July 24 shows a security guard shack located on the main road leading into the property.
News
EVgo taps Tesla Superchargers for mass charging expansion
EVgo has tapped Tesla Superchargers for its most recent efforts to expand its charging presence in the United States, a move that seems logical based on the effectiveness of the automaker’s own infrastructure.
EVgo opened its first Supercharger site in Illinois, a 12-stall station near downtown Chicago at 3145 South Ashland Avenue in the Riverside Square & River’s Edge center, right beside a grocery store. This marks the start of the company’s plan to deploy hundreds of Supercharger stalls across the United States, primarily at grocery-anchored Regency Centers properties where drivers can shop, eat, or run errands while they charge.
We’ve opened our first EVgo Supercharger location in Illinois, marking the start of our plan to add hundreds of Supercharger stalls across the U.S.
Designed for both NACS and CCS vehicles with Magic Dock technology, these new sites help make fast charging more accessible and convenient for all EV drivers. Learn more: https://t.co/V92t5FDryQ
— EVgo Fast Charging Network (@evgonetwork) November 5, 2026
The new location uses Tesla’s Magic Dock technology so both NACS and CCS vehicles can plug in natively without drivers needing to carry their own adapters. Peak power reaches 325 kW at this site, with pricing set between $0.25 and $0.35 per kWh depending on the hour—the same rate for Tesla and non-Tesla drivers.
The stalls also appear in Tesla’s in-car navigation and Trip Planner, making them easy for Tesla owners to find and route to. Illinois has seen EV registrations rise nearly 60 percent over the past two years, and EVgo’s broader network has experienced more than 700 percent growth in charging demand over three years, so the timing fits the market’s trajectory.
Choosing Tesla hardware through the Supercharger for Business program turns out to have been a smart, practical move.
Tesla’s V4 stalls and cabinets deliver high, reliable power with a proven track record of strong uptime, while Magic Dock delivers true dual-standard compatibility in one package. Because the sites show up in Tesla’s navigation tools, EVgo instantly gains visibility among millions of existing Tesla drivers, which should raise utilization and help the company double its addressable market as more vehicles adopt NACS. EVgo still owns the stations and sets pricing, yet benefits from Tesla’s established hardware, longer cables, and operational support.
The result is faster, lower-risk infrastructure expansion that serves every EV driver—Tesla or otherwise—with convenient, high-power charging at everyday retail locations. For drivers, that means fewer adapters, more predictable stops, and a denser network just as electric vehicles become everyday transportation.
News
Tesla Giga Texas reportedly moves to 24/7 production
Tesla’s Austin Gigafactory is reportedly shifting to round-the-clock vehicle production through the end of 2026, according to longtime drone observer Joe Tegtmeyer.
In his November 2 update, Tegtmeyer, widely regarded as one of the most reliable independent sources on Giga Texas activity (we call him the Drone GOAT), stated that the plant has added a night shift, creating two 12-hour production shifts.
Tegtmeyer said in his video:
“Now, I do have some interesting news about that when it comes to the production schedule here at Giga Texas, and things are actually looking pretty good, especially when you think about what the demand is and the delivery numbers that they’re looking for and what they’re expecting. So, normally they have shifts Monday through Friday. It’s a day shift and it’s about 10 hours long or so, give or take. But now they’re on day and night shifts and they’re going to 12-hour days. So they’re going to be adding or they have another shift. They have 12 hours for both of them. In addition to that, the typical downtime that we’re going to be seeing around the holidays, specifically Thanksgiving and Christmas to the New Year time frame is actually changed. And we’re not going to see those big several day events where there is no production. At least that’s what the plan is right now. So, it’s really a great sign, I think, when we consider what they’ve done in the past and what production and the deliveries have been so far. So, maybe it’s shaping up to be a really strong quarter.”
Previously, General Assembly typically operated on a single roughly 10-hour day shift, Monday through Thursday or Friday. The new arrangement keeps General Assembly on its Monday-to-Thursday schedule while adding overnight capacity, and most other areas of the factory continue working the full week with some weekend activity.
Notably, the plant is also forgoing the multi-day shutdowns around Thanksgiving and the Christmas–New Year period that have occurred in prior years
Giga Texas currently builds the Model Y, the larger Model Y L, the Cybertruck, and the Cybercab robotaxi. Tesla has not confirmed the shift change or specified which lines will receive the extra output. Recent comments suggest Cybercab production has been constrained by the pace at which the Robotaxi fleet can absorb new vehicles, making the Model Y and Model Y L the more likely beneficiaries as the company works through order backlogs.
Tegtmeyer’s November 2 footage and commentary also highlighted broader site progress. Cortex 2 continues to expand, with additional compute coming online, a roughly 25 percent lengthening of the structure on the north end, and work on a third cooling plant.
The Boring Company tunnel site showed increased activity in the large launch pit, while the Advanced Technology Chip Fab (a SpaceX–Tesla joint R&D facility) continued steel superstructure and heavy truss installation, along with concrete pours.
The reported capacity increase arrives as Tesla aims for a strong fourth quarter following solid third-quarter results. While unconfirmed by the company, the information aligns with Tegtmeyer’s consistent track record of accurate on-site observations.
If Tesla makes the decision to sustain the all-day production plans, the dual 12-hour shifts would meaningfully raise weekly output potential at one of Tesla’s most important manufacturing hubs.
News
Tesla opens new “Cybaer” Engineering Center in Berlin
Tesla opened its Berlin Engineering Center, uniting four sites and 30 labs near Giga Berlin.
Tesla has opened a new engineering hub in Berlin, putting the teams that design and test its European parts about 30 minutes from the factory that builds them.
The Berlin Tesla Engineering Center, or BTEC, opened Wednesday in the Köpenick district. Tesla Europe said on X that the project went from permit to operational in under a year and consolidates four engineering sites and 30 labs onto a single campus. It is the company’s third hub of this kind, after Fremont and Shanghai.
“We’re combining materials, powertrain, vehicle engineering & validation under one roof, enabling a short feedback loop between development & ramp,” Tesla Europe wrote.
Berlin Tesla Engineering Center opens today From permit to operational in under a year, it brings 4 engineering sites onto 1 campus w/ 30 different labs in Köpenick, 30 minutes from Giga Berlin With our 3rd hub of this kind after Fremont & Shanghai, we’re combining materials, powertrain, vehicle engineering & validation under one roof – enabling a short feedback loop between development & ramp — Tesla Europe, Middle East & Africa (@teslaeurope) November 4, 2026
Tesla converted the former production halls of a cable factory for the site. About 250 engineers and technicians are starting there, most of them relocated from existing Tesla facilities such as Tilburg in the Netherlands. Tesla has already applied for approval of a second phase that would take the headcount to roughly 500, and it put the total investment at €100 million.
The labs cover battery cells, motors, materials and complete vehicles, and a large hall is set aside for safety testing of components, including airbags. During the opening, staff demonstrated a pedestrian leg impact test on the front of a Tesla using a catapult rig, Tagesspiegel reported. The center’s logo is a cubist Berlin bear that employees call the “Cybaer.”
Tesla said its Berlin design and engineering teams already contributed to the Model Y, Semi and Roadster, and that the work continues at BTEC. The center will handle technical problem solving for Giga Berlin in Grünheide while also developing and validating parts for vehicles built in China and the United States.
“We came here to stay,” BTEC head Brückner told dpa. “We serve all of Europe via Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg.” He said a site close to the plant was a priority, and that the old industrial building allowed Tesla to move quickly.
That proximity matters more now that Giga Berlin is growing again. In June, Tesla said it would raise Model Y output at the plant to 7,500 vehicles per week and hire 1,000 more workers after a record first quarter of more than 61,000 units. The factory recently built 7,000 Model Ys in a single week for the first time. Tesla also more than doubled the planned 4680 cell capacity at the site to 18 GWh per year in May, and has talked about eventually taking Grünheide to one million vehicles annually.
Sales are giving Tesla reason to invest. KBA data released the same day showed Tesla’s German registrations nearly quadrupled year over year in October to 2,932 units, bringing the total for the first ten months of 2026 to 47,742.


