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[Photos] Preparations for Tesla’s Gigafactory event are well underway
New aerial photos obtained by Teslarati show party preparations for Tesla’s upcoming July 29 Gigafactory event are well underway. Photos of Tesla’s $5 billion high-tech battery plant located 20 miles east of Reno, Nevada reveal that the electric automaker turned energy company has perched a large white tent off the main road, rightfully named Electric Avenue, that leads into the Gigafactory.
Several tractor trailers are seen surrounding the tent with a pair of trailers positioned in a way that would suggest cargo was being unloaded into the tent. Taking into account that commercial tractor trailers are generally 53 feet in length, we approximate the tent to be about 210 feet in length and 105 feet wide, or twice the size of a professional NBA basketball court.
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- Tesla Gigafactory event prepartions seen in aerial photo
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- A newly perched white tent is seen near the entrance to the Gigafactory
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- Tesla Gigafactory, July 24, 2016
Also seen in the photos taken on Sunday, July 24 by local flight instructor Josh Mcdonald are roughly 2,000 newly painted parking spaces located directly west of Tesla’s Gigafactory 1. Tesla will be providing valet parking for those driving to Gigafactory 1 via Electric Avenue, but will also have shuttle service departing from downtown Reno to the battery plant. Though Tesla has not disclosed the planned attendance figure for the highly anticipated event, we know CEO Elon Musk isn’t one to shy away from throwing a good party. Both the Tesla ‘D event’ and the Model X unveiling each drew between 4,000 – 6,000 in attendance.
Looking forward to the Gigafactory opening party on Friday next week. The scale blows me away every time I see it.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 22, 2016
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Tesla will also be providing factory tours of Gigafactory 1 as well as “test rides” according to event details outlined on the company’s official invitation to the July 29 party. There’s been speculation that Tesla will be providing event attendees rides in the final version of the Model 3 which completed design late last month.
We know that Musk has said in the past that Tesla will “do the obvious thing” regarding Autopilot on the Model 3. Contrary to Tesla’s current semi-autonomous driving feature which has seen its share of negative press after the first fatality occurred behind the wheel of a Model S on Autopilot, many believe that the obvious thing in this case is a fully autonomous vehicle capable of driving on its own with no human intervention.
Looking at a close up of the area near the white tent, we can see a section leading to a paved road that runs alongside the expansive parking lot, and around the outer perimeter of the factory lot. Zooming into the photo even more and you can see the paved road is painted with very clear lane markings, perhaps to ensure that Autopilot 2.0 sensors have all of the cues needed for a successful demo. What we’re seeing here might in fact be a test track where rides will take place.
Test rides might be originating from near the white tent and on the paved road surrounding the outer perimeter of the Gigafactory 1 lot.
Musk’s vision for the future includes the use of Tesla’s battery plant as the supplier of li-ion cells for its upcoming fleet of Tesla trucks, semis and home and commercial energy solutions.
Tesla broke ground on its first Gigafactory in June 2014 and is expected to produce 105 gigawatt hours of battery cells when it reaches full production in 2020, and becomes the world’s largest producer and consumer of li-ion battery cells.
-->The four completed sections of the Gigafactory to date represents only 15% of the overall total size when completed. Josh Mcdonald of Nevada Tailwheel tells us, “Tesla has begun construction on the next phase of the Gigafactory as seen from the newly graded sections with concrete and steel pylons forming the base of the foundation directly to the north and south of the factory”.
We’ve outlined in red a few key areas of the Gigafactory seen from the aerial photo. Among the areas outlined are new sections north and south of the existing building, a helicopter landing zone and the security guard shack on Electric Avenue.
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Tesla is improving Giga Berlin’s free “Giga Train” service for employees
With this initiative, Tesla aims to boost the number of Gigafactory Berlin employees commuting by rail while keeping the shuttle free for all riders.
Tesla will expand its factory shuttle service in Germany beginning January 4, adding direct rail trips from Berlin Ostbahnhof to Giga Berlin-Brandenburg in Grünheide.
With this initiative, Tesla aims to boost the number of Gigafactory Berlin employees commuting by rail while keeping the shuttle free for all riders.
New shuttle route
As noted in a report from rbb24, the updated service, which will start January 4, will run between the Berlin Ostbahnhof East Station and the Erkner Station at the Gigafactory Berlin complex. Tesla stated that the timetable mirrors shift changes for the facility’s employees, and similar to before, the service will be completely free. The train will offer six direct trips per day as well.
“The service includes six daily trips, which also cover our shift times. The trains will run between Berlin Ostbahnhof (with a stop at Ostkreuz) and Erkner station to the Gigafactory,” Tesla Germany stated.
Even with construction continuing at Fangschleuse and Köpenick stations, the company said the route has been optimized to maintain a predictable 35-minute travel time. The update follows earlier phases of Tesla’s “Giga Train” program, which initially connected Erkner to the factory grounds before expanding to Berlin-Lichtenberg.
-->Tesla pushes for majority rail commuting
Tesla began production at Grünheide in March 2022, and the factory’s workforce has since grown to around 11,500 employees, with an estimated 60% commuting from Berlin. The facility produces the Model Y, Tesla’s best-selling vehicle, for both Germany and other territories.
The company has repeatedly emphasized its goal of having more than half its staff use public transportation rather than cars, positioning the shuttle as a key part of that initiative. In keeping with the factory’s sustainability focus, Tesla continues to allow even non-employees to ride the shuttle free of charge, making it a broader mobility option for the area.
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Tesla Model 3 and Model Y dominate China’s real-world efficiency tests
The Tesla Model 3 posted 20.8 kWh/100 km while the Model Y followed closely at 21.8 kWh/100 km.
Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y once again led the field in a new real-world energy-consumption test conducted by China’s Autohome, outperforming numerous rival electric vehicles in controlled conditions.
The results, which placed both Teslas in the top two spots, prompted Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun to acknowledge Tesla’s efficiency advantage while noting that his company’s vehicles will continue refining its own models to close the gap.
Tesla secures top efficiency results
Autohome’s evaluation placed all vehicles under identical conditions, such as a full 375-kg load, cabin temperature fixed at 24°C on automatic climate control, and a steady cruising speed of 120 km/h. In this environment, the Tesla Model 3 posted 20.8 kWh/100 km while the Model Y followed closely at 21.8 kWh/100 km, as noted in a Sina News report.
These figures positioned Tesla’s vehicles firmly at the top of the ranking and highlighted their continued leadership in long-range efficiency. The test also highlighted how drivetrain optimization, software management, and aerodynamic profiles remain key differentiators in high-speed, cold-weather scenarios where many electric cars struggle to maintain low consumption.
Xiaomi’s Lei Jun pledges to continue learning from Tesla
Following the results, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun noted that the Xiaomi SU7 actually performed well overall but naturally consumed more energy due to its larger C-segment footprint and higher specification. He reiterated that factors such as size and weight contributed to the difference in real-world consumption compared to Tesla. Still, the executive noted that Xiaomi will continue to learn from the veteran EV maker.
“The Xiaomi SU7’s energy consumption performance is also very good; you can take a closer look. The fact that its test results are weaker than Tesla’s is partly due to objective reasons: the Xiaomi SU7 is a C-segment car, larger and with higher specifications, making it heavier and naturally increasing energy consumption. Of course, we will continue to learn from Tesla and further optimize its energy consumption performance!” Lei Jun wrote in a post on Weibo.
-->Lei Jun has repeatedly described Tesla as the global benchmark for EV efficiency, previously stating that Xiaomi may require three to five years to match its leadership. He has also been very supportive of FSD, even testing the system in the United States.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk reveals what will make Optimus’ ridiculous production targets feasible
Musk recent post suggests that Tesla has a plan to attain Optimus’ production goals.
Elon Musk subtly teased Tesla’s strategy to achieve Optimus’ insane production volume targets. The CEO has shared his predictions about Optimus’ volume, and they are so ambitious that one would mistake them for science fiction.
Musk’s recent post on X, however, suggests that Tesla has a plan to attain Optimus’ production goals.
The highest volume product
Elon Musk has been pretty clear about the idea of Optimus being Tesla’s highest-volume product. During the Tesla 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Musk stated that the humanoid robot will see “the fastest production ramp of any product of any large complex manufactured product ever,” starting with a one-million-per-year line at the Fremont Factory.
Following this, Musk stated that Giga Texas will receive a 10 million-per-year unit Optimus line. But even at this level, the Optimus ramp is just beginning, as the production of the humanoid robot will only accelerate from there. At some point, the CEO stated that a Mars location could even have a 100 million-unit-per-year production line, resulting in up to a billion Optimus robots being produced per year.
Self-replication is key
During the weekend, Musk posted a short message that hinted at Tesla’s Optimus strategy. “Optimus will be the Von Neumann probe,” the CEO wrote in his post. This short comment suggests that Tesla will not be relying on traditional production systems to make Optimus. The company probably won’t even hire humans to produce the humanoid robot at one point. Instead, Optimus robots could simply produce other Optimus robots, allowing them to self-replicate.
-->The Von Neumann is a hypothetical self-replicating spacecraft proposed by the mathematician and physicist John von Neumann in the 1940s–1950s. The hypothetical machine in the concept would be able to travel to a new star system or location, land, mine, and extract raw materials from planets, asteroids, and moons as needed, use those materials to manufacture copies of itself, and launch the new copies toward other star systems.
If Optimus could pull off this ambitious target, the humanoid robot would indeed be the highest volume product ever created. It could, as Musk predicted, really change the world.
Tesla is improving Giga Berlin’s free “Giga Train” service for employees
Tesla Model 3 and Model Y dominate China’s real-world efficiency tests
