Investor's Corner
Tesla Fremont factory building permits reveal facilities and expansion costs
A compilation and analysis of building permits filed by Tesla since July 2016 has revealed that the Elon Musk-led company spent over $51.3 million in construction permits for the Fremont factory over the past two years. Tesla also invested more than $30 million in permits for nearby facilities, including its new offices located at Dumbarton Circle in Fremont’s Ardenwood District.
The breakdown of Tesla’s expenses in the development and continued improvement of the Fremont factory was compiled by BuildZoom, which sorted through the permits filed by the company using its National Building Permit Database. As could be seen in BuildZoom‘s findings, Tesla spared no expense when it came to ensuring that its main factory is optimized to tackle the immense challenge of producing the Model 3 at scale. Below is a table of Tesla’s expenses for the Fremont factory over the past two years. Do take note, however, that the expenses reflected do not account for the cost of robots and other equipment that Tesla purchased for each portion of the 370-acre site.
A table showing Tesla’s permits for its Fremont facilities. [Credit: BuildZoom]
Over the past two years, Tesla had filed several building permits for Fremont that cost over $1 million, among these being a $4.5 million grading and foundation permit for a 104,324-square-foot North GA3 (General Assembly 3) building. Two permits, worth $4.2 million and $2 million, respectively, were listed as “capacity increases” to the North Paint building. Other noteworthy permits include a $1.2 million and $800,000 project for two new facilities — one of which being a sprung structure — as well as a $400,000 “Tesla Sunrise” road with bio-retention system at the factory’s Eastern boundary. Â
As a means to adapt to the mass number of Model 3 reservations it received, Tesla had filed roughly 100 industrial and commercial alteration permits for the Fremont factory since July 2016, costing a total of $16.2 million. Tesla also invested substantially in several key areas of the factory, including its body/assembly line, its paint shop, and its stamping building.
Tesla’s body and assembly building covers one of the largest areas in the Fremont factory. Since July 2016, Tesla spent more than $21.4 million (excluding the cost of machinery) on additions and improvements to the assembly and body area. Permits worth $14.2 million were also filed to develop infrastructure for GA3. Tesla’s stamping building, which houses one of the world’s 35 existing high-end Schuler servo stamping presses, has also seen $809,000 worth of improvements since July 2016. The location of these facilities could be viewed in the image below.
The location of Tesla’s facilities at the Fremont factory. [Credit: BuildZoom]
The electric car maker’s paint shops, both North and South, received $10.2 million worth of improvements since July 2016, including $240,000 spent on fire prevention systems like sprinklers, fire detectors, and other safety systems. Permits also reflected a $5.2 million investment on AFES (Automatic Fire Extinguishing System) for the factory.
Perhaps most interesting in Tesla’s permits, however, were filings referencing “Sprung” and “repack” tent structures that are worth $2.9 million. As revealed by Elon Musk recently, the largest of these tents is now the site of the Model 3’s newest assembly line, dubbed as GA4. Musk has been particularly optimistic about the tent-housed Model 3 line, stating on Twitter that it has a “slightly higher quality” than traditional assembly lines.
With the end of the second quarter just a few days away, Tesla is now working at a breakneck pace in its attempt to hit its all-elusive goal of producing 5,000 Model 3 per week by the end of Q2 2018. With Musk stating that GA4 is now working, and with sightings of lots filled with Model 3 being reported around the facility, it appears that Tesla is closer to its target than ever before.
Elon Musk
SpaceX Starship Flight 13 aborted at Zero and Musk just told us what broke
Four Raptor engines failed to ignite at T-zero, forcing SpaceX to scrub Starship Flight 13 Thursday.
SpaceX scrubbed the Starship Flight 13 launch attempt Thursday evening at the last possible moment, after four of the Super Heavy booster’s 33 Raptor 3 engines failed to ignite during the startup sequence. The 90-minute window had opened at 6:45 p.m. EDT from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, and the countdown had proceeded without issue all day, with more than 11.5 million pounds of liquid methane and liquid oxygen being fully loaded into the rocket before the automated abort triggered. SpaceX’s launch directors posted on X, “Standing down from today’s flight test attempt,” and shut down the livestream shortly after.
Musk confirmed the root cause within hours. “Some of the engines didn’t start, triggering an automatic launch abort,” he wrote on X. “To be confident of a good flight, 2 Raptors will be removed and replaced. Most probable launch timing is early next week.” SpaceX engineers began draining propellant tanks immediately and Booster 20 was rolled back to its hangar for inspection.
The timing adds a layer of significance that did not exist during any of the previous 12 Starship flights. This is the first time SpaceX has attempted to launch Starship since the company made its stock market debut in June, listing under ticker SPCX at $135 per share. Public investors are now watching every Starship outcome in real time, and a last-second abort carries more visibility than it would have six months ago.
Flight 13 was designed to be one of the most consequential tests in the program’s history. It was set to carry 20 Starlink V3 satellites, the first operational payload Starship has ever attempted to deploy. Six of those satellites carried external cameras to photograph Starship’s heat shield from the outside during flight, which would act as a self-inspection approach SpaceX has never attempted before. The mission also needed to complete a Raptor engine relight in space, a step SpaceX skipped on Flight 12 in May after losing an engine during ascent. That Flight 12 booster also flipped 90 degrees off course during its boostback burn when five engines failed to reignite.
SpaceX has not announced an official next launch date. Musk’s “early next week” window points to July 21 or 22 at the earliest, pending the engine swap and a return to the pad.
Lucid CEO Silvio Napoli responded to rumors of an imminent bankruptcy that was reportedly being mulled after a report stated the automaker was working with the firm AlixPartners to iron out its next steps.
The company felt a massive loss on Wall Street yesterday, as the report essentially pushed the stock down as much as 55 percent on Tuesday.
The report, published initially by Eletric-Vehicles.com, claimed Lucid was essentially in dire straits and was told by AlixPartners, a commonly used restructuring advisor, to either take shares private or file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Lucid’s head of Communications, Nick Twork, immediately challenged the report and stated the company “has sufficient liquidity to carry its operations well into next year.”
Now, the company’s CEO is chiming in as well, stating that the report is “so far from the facts that they require a direct response.”
Napoli said:
“Lucid is not considering bankruptcy or a transaction to take the company private. Those reports are false. The Board did not explore either scenario. Period.
As disclosed in our most recent quarterly filing, Lucid has sufficient liquidity to fund its operations well into next year.
We work with outside advisors to improve operational performance and execution. They are not advising Lucid on a take-private transaction or bankruptcy, and any suggestion that they have recommended either course of action to management or the Board is false.
My priority is clear: turn this company around. That is where the leadership team and I are focused.
I look forward to providing a full update during our quarterly earnings call on August 4th.”
🚨 Lucid CEO Silvio Napoli calls rumors of financial issues “so far from the facts that they require a direct response.”
Read his full remarks here: https://t.co/t3Pg1NHvzy pic.twitter.com/LvHUPhO4Qf
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 15, 2026
It seems pretty clear that Lucid is confident things will be okay, and, to be honest, they should not have much to worry about, especially considering the company has been backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) for years. It has solid financial backing, and its sales, while weak, are pretty much right on par with a company of this age.
Lucid also sent a Cease & Desist letter to the publication for their report.
Lucid shares have rebounded nicely and are up nearly 21 percent at the time of publication. As soon as the company dispelled the rumors of bankruptcy yesterday, the stock began to climb back toward more reasonable levels.
Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group has denied rumors of an imminent bankruptcy after a report from this morning sent the stock on a dramatic drop on Wall Street, seeing losses of more than 40 percent during trading hours.
Lucid’s Director of Communications, Nick Twork, responded to the report from Eletric-Vehicles.com, which stated the company’s restructuring advisor, AlixPartners, was asked to review two decisions: taking Lucid shares private or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The report also claims AlixPartners told the Lucid board to “concentrate on Gravity production while improving its quality, and to temporarily hold back the Lucid Air, the sedan that has defined the company since its launch.”
Twork said:
$LCID The rumors are completely false. The company has sufficient liquidity to carry its operations well into next year, as recently published in its last quarterly filings, and it has not formed any special Board committee to explore the scenarios reported today. Our focus is…
— Nick Twork (@ntwork) July 14, 2026
Shares rebounded after the response to the report, halving its losses as the trading day neared 3 p.m. Eastern.
Lucid has struggled to get its sales off the ground and into more respectable numbers, but the company is in its early years, when things are hard to begin with. It is also backed by several notable investors, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has nearly limitless money and likely would not ditch an investment of this size so soon.
Lucid shares were down just 14 percent at the time of publication, a far cry from the 55 percent its losses topped out at during the day.
SpaceX announces new Starship 13 test flight target date
SpaceX Starship Flight 13 aborted at Zero and Musk just told us what broke
