News
Tesla Giga Texas is a clean slate for launching its next-gen manufacturing processes
Tesla’s new Giga Texas facility will the second United States-based location for the all-electric automaker to manufacture its vehicles. With its first being located in Fremont, California, which has been in operation for Tesla since 2010, it may be planning to use its new Texas plant as a “clean slate” for manufacturing testing. With a widespread focus of the company being primarily set on making its vehicles faster, in larger amounts, and with better quality than ever before, a fresh spread of production lines in a new plant that is close to home is ideal for CEO Elon Musk, who announced the Texas plant during the Q2 2020 Earnings Call.
But apart from the new plant, the Q2 2020 Earnings Call included another big piece of information that was repeatedly discussed: manufacturing efficiency. With engineers who can help Tesla solve the manufacturing puzzle in high demand, the automaker can begin to set its sights on reaching a more sizable annual production and delivery rate.
However, it starts with the right personnel, and Tesla is surely searching for some highly-capable individuals who can help introduce new techniques and processes to the supply chain.
Tesla has been seeking individuals to help revolutionize its manufacturing processes. It starts with Giga Texas.
Manufacturing is where Tesla begins its process of delivering a car to a customer. After rounding up all of the material and necessary parts and people, a car can be built on production lines. However, there is always room for improvement, and as demand continues to grow in the face of an ever-changing automotive industry, Tesla needs to adapt. Without a doubt, the company recognizes that the key to keeping up with demand is building vehicles faster than ever before.
Musk, for one, is all-too-familiar with the struggles of building cars. When the Model 3’s introduction of “production hell” brought Tesla to a crossroads in 2017, it was evident that things needed to be solved. More lines and more personnel were brought in, but there is a better strategy than just adding more volume. There is a chance to revolutionize the way cars are built, making the entire process easier, more refined, and better for the company as a whole.
Sheer magnitude of the entire production system is hard to appreciate. Almost every element of production is >75% automated. Only wire harnesses & general assembly, which are <10% of production costs, are primarily manual.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 12, 2020
For Tesla, manufacturing half-a-million units of the same two cars every year is far from monotonous and repetitive. It is an opportunity to learn.
“…They sort of put manufacturing is like, oh, this is for some boring, just making copies, whatever. But actually, there’s far more opportunity for innovation in manufacturing than in the products itself, order magnitude,” Musk said during the company’s second-quarter Earnings Call. “If you work on manufacturing engineering, but you don’t just get force-fed a sandwich. You get to change the product design. So it’s super exciting.”
A focus on manufacturing has put Tesla at the forefront of automotive technology and design. Musk has even said himself that the company’s long-term sustainable advantage would be manufacturing. Eventually, other automakers will create and build a line of sustainable, functional, and operational EVs. However, Tesla will be able to put themselves ahead of the pack simply because the company’s manufacturing efficiency will be “head and shoulders” above everyone else.
Tesla will be absolutely head and shoulders above anyone else in manufacturing. That is our goal.” -Elon Musk
“Eventually, every car company will have long-range electric cars. Eventually, every company will have autonomy. But not every company will be great at manufacturing. Tesla will be absolutely head and shoulders above anyone else in manufacturing. That is our goal,” Musk said.
The problem is that testing these new techniques and ideas becomes difficult when you have two functional production plants and two others that are being constructed. Without a doubt, trying new things in terms of manufacturing could be detrimental to current lines and could interrupt the much-needed production efforts that are going on currently. So the only way to really test it is to build a new facility and try things on lines that have yet to be used.
This is where Tesla’s advantage lies with Giga Texas. It becomes the perfect place to test new techniques as lines have yet to be built, and none of the company’s current infrastructure is dependent on Giga Texas’ output. Not only is it a fresh start, but it is also close to home, and Musk will have the opportunity to oversee new production and manufacturing methods by simply hopping on his private jet and darting off to the Lone Star State.
Elon Musk giving YouTube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee a tour of the Fremont factory. (Credit: MKBHD/YouTube)
Tesla is currently looking for proven manufacturing leaders to take charge of the Giga Texas plant as well. This job won’t be business as usual or the same monotonous challenges day in and day out. Tesla is looking for a change, and it is dead set on coming up with new ways to make cars efficiently. As the company nears a 1 million vehicle a year production rate, Giga Texas may be the way Tesla sets itself apart from all other car companies by showing new and innovative techniques that could drive the company’s manufacturing practices to become more efficient and groundbreaking for the future.
News
SpaceX’s triple-rocket that launched a Tesla into space is back on a mission
SpaceX Falcon Heavy returns after 18 months away to deliver a satellite that only it could carry.
After an 18-month absence, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy is returning to mission on Monday morning when it’s scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center at 10:21 a.m. EDT.
The mission is called ViaSat-3 F3, and the heavy satellite payload needs to reach geostationary orbit, sitting 22,236 miles above Earth where its speed matches the planet’s rotation. Getting a satellite that heavy to that altitude demands more thrust than a single-core Falcon 9 can deliver.
This marks the Falcon Heavy’s 12th flight overall since its debut in February 2018, and its first since NASA’s Europa Clipper mission in October 2024.
Arguably, the most exciting element for spectators will be watching the booster recoveries in action when the two side boosters, B1072 and B1075, will attempt simultaneous landings at Landing Zone 2 and the newer Landing Zone 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, while the center core will be expended over the ocean.
SpaceX wins its first MARS contract but it comes with a catch
Following satellite deployment, expected roughly five hours after launch, ViaSat-3 F3 will spend several months traveling to its final orbital slot before undergoing in-orbit testing, with service entry expected by late summer 2026
As Teslarati reported, NASA awarded SpaceX a $175.7 million contract on April 16, 2026 to launch the ESA Rosalind Franklin Mars rover aboard a Falcon Heavy no earlier than late 2028, which would mark the first time SpaceX has ever sent a payload to Mars. That contract came on top of an already deep pipeline that includes the Roman Space Telescope, the Dragonfly Saturn mission, and multiple national security payloads.
SpaceX executed 165 missions in 2025 and now accounts for approximately 85% of all global orbital launches. With Starlink surpassing 10 million subscribers and an IPO targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation still ahead, Monday’s launch is one more data point in a company that has quietly become the backbone of both commercial and government space access worldwide.
Tesla is launching its solution to end Supercharger fights once and for all, eliminating any confusion on who is to charge next at a congested location.
Last year, a notable incident at a Tesla Supercharger led to a fight, and it all stemmed from a disagreement over who arrived at the location first.
Congestion at Tesla Superchargers is a pretty infrequent occurrence for most of us, but there are more congested and popular areas where wait times can be extensive. An unfortunate growing pain of EV ownership is the plain fact that chargers are not as available as gas pumps, and there are, at times, lines to charge.
This can cause tensions to flare and people to get entitled when visiting Superchargers. Nobody wants to spend hours at a Supercharger, but now, there will be no more confusion when there is a queue, and that’s thanks to Tesla’s new Virtual Queue for Superchargers.
Tesla is finally starting to build out the Virtual Supercharger Queue, according to Not a Tesla App, but it still relies on drivers to make it work.
When a driver is near a Supercharger that is full, a message will pop up on the Tesla App, using the driver’s location to determine their eligibility to join the virtual queue.
The app states:
“While the app is closed, Tesla uses your location to notify you of accurate wait times at Superchargers when you arrive.”
Another message within the app states:
“There is a waitlist to charge. Are you sure you want to start a charging session now?”
This sounds as if it will require drivers to act appropriately and only plug in when the app prompts them to do so, by letting them know it is their turn.
The app will notify the driver of their position in the queue, as well as how many vehicles are ahead of them.
Tesla launches first ‘true’ East Coast V4 Supercharger: here’s what that means
The company announced a while back that it would be working on a solution for this issue. Personally, I’ve only had to wait at a Supercharger for a charge on one occasion, and there was a line of between 3 and 10 cars during this singular occurrence.
I’m out at the Lancaster, PA Supercharger and showed up with a queue of three vehicles.
It’s now up to five and there have been several issues with order of arrival and confusion about who is first.
Any update on Supercharger queue? @elonmusk @aelluswamy @r_jegaa
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 31, 2026
There were no conflicts or arguments about who had arrived first, but there was some discussion between several drivers during my time there about who was to charge first. Throw a non-Tesla EV into the mix, one that can only charge at a pull-in spot, and that causes even more of a complication.
News
Tesla offers awesome Free Supercharging incentive on an unexpected vehicle
In the past, Tesla has used Free Supercharging to incentivize the purchase of its expensive vehicles, like the Model S and Model X. However, those vehicles are leaving the company lineup, and Tesla saw a benefit from applying the incentive to another car.
Tesla is offering an awesome new Free Supercharging incentive on a vehicle that is sort of unexpected.
In the past, Tesla has used Free Supercharging to incentivize the purchase of its expensive vehicles, like the Model S and Model X. However, those vehicles are leaving the company lineup, and Tesla saw a benefit from applying the incentive to another car.
Tesla North America has introduced a compelling new incentive aimed at boosting Model 3 sales. Starting with orders placed on or after April 24, buyers of the Model 3 Premium (Long Range) and Performance variants in the United States will receive one full year of complimentary Supercharging.
The offer applies exclusively to new vehicle orders and does not extend to existing owners or other trims like the base Rear-Wheel Drive model.
New orders of Model 3 Premium & Performance now come with 1 year of free Supercharging 🇺🇸
Also, all Teslas pay the lowest Supercharging rates – all others pay a ~40% premium or need a subscription
— Tesla North America (@tesla_na) April 24, 2026
The announcement underscores Tesla’s continued dominance in EV charging infrastructure.
While the incentive provides 12 months of zero-cost access to the Supercharger network, Tesla also reiterated its pricing structure: all Tesla vehicles receive the lowest Supercharging rates.
Non-Tesla EVs, by contrast, pay approximately 40 percent more per kWh or must purchase a subscription to access the network at standard rates. This tiered approach highlights the strategic value of owning a Tesla, where seamless integration with the world’s largest and most reliable fast-charging network remains a key differentiator.
For prospective buyers, the savings can be substantial. Depending on driving habits, a typical Model 3 owner might log 12,000–15,000 miles annually.
With average Supercharging costs around $0.40–$0.50 per kWh, one year of free sessions could translate to $800–$1,200 in avoided expenses.
That effectively lowers the total cost of ownership and makes long-distance travel more affordable from day one. Early delivery customers have already noted similar past incentives, with one Cybertruck owner reporting over $2,400 saved in just six months under similar offers that Tesla has deployed in the past.
The timing of the offer appears strategic. Tesla faces growing competition from other automakers expanding their own charging networks and offering aggressive EV incentives.
By bundling free Supercharging rather than discounting the vehicle’s MSRP, Tesla preserves perceived value while directly addressing one of the biggest barriers for new EV adopters: charging costs and convenience.
The move also encourages higher-mileage use of the network, generating valuable real-world data for Tesla’s autonomous driving development.
Why Tesla would apply this incentive to the Model 3 is pretty interesting. It usually is a pretty good incentive to move units out the door, so there’s some speculation whether Tesla is planning to launch new upgrades to the mass-market sedan in the coming months, and the company wants to move what will be outdated units from its inventory.
However, there is also just the idea that Tesla could be attempting to stimulate some early quarter demand for the Model 3, especially as the Model Y continues to sell very well. Tesla’s loss of the $7,500 EV tax credit last year had an impact on sales, and Tesla might be testing some formidable options to see if it can add some demand once again.
SpaceX’s triple-rocket that launched a Tesla into space is back on a mission
The FCC just said ‘No’ to SpaceX for now
