Connect with us

News

Tesla Gigafactory 1 new aerial pictures tease facility’s possible expansion

[Credit: Teslarati]

Published

on

Recent photographs obtained by Teslarati reveal that Tesla’s new project at the north of Gigafactory 1 is progressing well. As could be seen in the new aerial pictures, a significant portion of the recently-flattened land now appears to be overlaid with asphalt.

Tesla’s recent development in the land north of the Nevada facility was first noticed by Tesla enthusiasts last month. As noted by u/MaChiMiB of the r/TeslaMotors subreddit, the area that Tesla is developing appears to be around 2,000 x 1,500 ft (roughly 600 m x 470 m).

If the aerial photographs we recently acquired are any indication, Tesla seems to have finished moving the dirt and flattening the area, and is now in the process of overlaying asphalt. Overall, the project, which looks like the factory’s new, far more expansive parking lot, will likely be completed in the near future.

Tesla’s development north of Gigafactory 1 bodes well for the company’s plans for the facility. The company, after all, has not increased the building’s physical footprint since last year. Despite the lack of expansion on the building’s exterior, however, reports back in February revealed that Tesla has been upgrading its facilities and equipment within Gigafactory 1.

Over the course of 2017, Tesla filed 112 building permits for the factory, adding another $379.9 million to its investment and raising the total cost of the factory to roughly $1.3 billion. Quite noticeable in Tesla’s building permits in 2017 was the high occurrence of addendums, which correspond to improvements to facilities in the factory that are already built.

Advertisement
-->

From the 112 building permits that were filed by the Elon Musk-led company, 50 were addendums. Permits for new facilities such as a metrology lab, which is designed to ensure that products are manufactured according to precise measurements, were also filed by Tesla in 2017.  

Apart from this, Tesla has also begun installing solar panels on the Nevada Gigafactory’s roof. As shown by aerial photographs we acquired last month, Tesla has so far installed six sets of solar panels on the facility. Tesla’s efforts for Gigafactory 1 seem to be teased by the company recently as well, as a leaked email from Elon Musk stated that a hiring ramp would be underway for Gigafactory 1 and Fremont over the next few weeks. The ramp would help the company achieve its aim of producing 6,000 Model 3 a week by the end of the second quarter.

Considering that Tesla is now constructing what appears to be a new parking lot for Gigafactory 1, it seems safe to speculate that the company would soon be expanding the facility’s footprint once more. The factory, after all, might already boast a physical footprint of 1.9 million square feet, but it is still only 30% complete. Once finished, Gigafactory 1 is expected to cover an impressive 13 million square feet. The facility is also expected to boast a production capacity of up to 35 GWh annually.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

Advertisement
Comments

News

Tesla ramps hiring for Roadster as latest unveiling approaches

Tesla published three new positions for the Roadster this week, relating to Battery Manufacturing, General Manufacturing, and Vision Engineering.

Published

on

Tesla Roadster at Tesla Battery Day 2020 Credit: @BLKMDL3 | Twitter

Tesla is ramping up hiring for positions related to the Roadster program, the company’s ultra-fast supercar that has been teased to potentially hover by CEO Elon Musk.

The company seems to be crossing off its last handful of things before it plans to unveil the vehicle on April Fool’s Day, just about four months away.

Tesla published three new positions for the Roadster this week, relating to Battery Manufacturing, General Manufacturing, and Vision Engineering. All three are located in Northern California, with two being at the Fremont Factory and the other at the company’s Engineering HQ in Palo Alto.

Technical Program Manager, Battery Manufacturing

Located in Fremont, this role specifically caters to the design of the Roadster to factory operations. It appears this role will mostly have to do with developing and engineering the Roadster’s battery pack and establishing the production processes for it:

“You will foster collaboration across design engineering, manufacturing, quality, facilities, and production to align with company priorities. Additionally, you will understand project opportunities, challenges, and dependencies; translate scattered information into concise, complete messages; and communicate them to every team member. As the business process development lead, you will develop, maintain, and implement tools and processes to accelerate battery manufacturing execution, achieve cross-functional alignment, and deliver highly efficient systems.”

Advertisement
-->

Manufacturing Engineer, Roadster

Also located in Fremont, this role also has to deal with the concept development and launch of battery manufacturing equipment. Tesla says:

“In this role, you will take large-scale manufacturing systems for new battery products and architectures from the early concept development stage through equipment launch, optimization, and handover to local operations teams.”

Manufacturing Vision Engineer, Battery Vision

This position is in Palo Alto at Tesla’s Engineering Headquarters, and requires the design and scale of advanced inspection and control systems to next-generation battery products:

“You’ll work on automation processes that directly improve battery performance, quality, and cost, collaborating with world-class engineers in a fast-paced, hands-on environment.”

Developing and deploying 2D and 3D vision and measurement systems from proof-of-concept to deployment on high-volume battery manufacturing lines is part of the job description.

Advertisement
-->

Roadster Unveiling

Tesla plans to unveil the Roadster on April 1, and although it was planned for late this year, it is nice to see the company put out a definitive date.

Musk said on the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast in late October:

“Whether it’s good or bad, it will be unforgettable. My friend Peter Thiel once reflected that the future was supposed to have flying cars, but we don’t have flying cars. I think if Peter wants a flying car, he should be able to buy one…I think it has a shot at being the most memorable product unveil ever.”

Production should begin between 12 to 18 months after unveiling, so we could see it sometime in 2027.

Advertisement
-->
Continue Reading

Investor's Corner

Tesla Full Self-Driving statistic impresses Wall Street firm: ‘Very close to unsupervised’

The data shows there was a significant jump in miles traveled between interventions as Tesla transitioned drivers to v14.1 back in October. The FSD Community Tracker saw a jump from 441 miles to over 9,200 miles, the most significant improvement in four years.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla Full Self-Driving performance and statistics continue to impress everyone, from retail investors to Wall Street firms. However, one analyst believes Tesla’s driving suite is “very close” to achieving unsupervised self-driving.

On Tuesday, Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter said that Tesla’s recent launch of Full Self-Driving version 14 increased the number of miles traveled between interventions by a drastic margin, based on data compiled by a Full Self-Driving Community Tracker.

Advertisement
-->

The data shows there was a significant jump in miles traveled between interventions as Tesla transitioned drivers to v14.1 back in October. The FSD Community Tracker saw a jump from 441 miles to over 9,200 miles, the most significant improvement in four years.

Interestingly, there was a slight dip in the miles traveled between interventions with the release of v14.2. Piper Sandler said investor interest in FSD has increased.

Full Self-Driving has displayed several improvements with v14, including the introduction of Arrival Options that allow specific parking situations to be chosen by the driver prior to arriving at the destination. Owners can choose from Street Parking, Parking Garages, Parking Lots, Chargers, and Driveways.

Additionally, the overall improvements in performance from v13 have been evident through smoother operation, fewer mistakes during routine operation, and a more refined decision-making process.

Early versions of v14 exhibited stuttering and brake stabbing, but Tesla did a great job of confronting the issue and eliminating it altogether with the release of v14.2.

Advertisement
-->

Tesla CEO Elon Musk also recently stated that the current v14.2 FSD suite is also less restrictive with drivers looking at their phones, which has caused some controversy within the community.

Although we tested it and found there were fewer nudges by the driver monitoring system to push eyes back to the road, we still would not recommend it due to laws and regulations.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2.1 texting and driving: we tested it

With that being said, FSD is improving significantly with each larger rollout, and Musk believes the final piece of the puzzle will be unveiled with FSD v14.3, which could come later this year or early in 2026.

Piper Sandler reaffirmed its $500 price target on Tesla shares, as well as its ‘Overweight’ rating.

Advertisement
-->

Continue Reading

News

Tesla begins Holiday Update rollout with some surprise features

On Monday, just a few days after Tesla first announced the Holiday Update, people started reporting that it was being deployed to owners.

Published

on

Credit: Grok

Tesla has started the rollout of the 2025 Holiday Update, as several owners reported it had arrived in their cars via a software update.

Tesla’s Holiday Update is rolling out as Software Version 2025.44.25.1, and includes several new features. We did an extensive breakdown of what was included in another article, but we’ll list the new additions below:

  • Grok with Navigation Commands (Beta) – Grok will now add and edit destinations.
  • Tesla Photobooth – Take pictures inside your car using the cabin-facing camera
  • Dog Mode Live Activity – Check on your four-legged friend on your phone through periodic snapshots taken of the cabin
  • Dashcam Viewer Update – Includes new metrics, like steering wheel angle, speed, and more
  • Santa Mode – New graphics, trees, and a lock chime
  • Light Show Update – Addition of Jingle Rush light show
  • Custom Wraps and License Plates – Colorizer now allows you to customize your vehicle even further, with custom patterns, license plates, and tint
  • Navigation Improvements – Easier layout and setup
  • Supercharger Site Map – Starting at 18 pilot locations, a 3D view of the Supercharger you’re visiting will be available
  • Automatic Carpool Lane Routing – Navigation will utilize carpool lanes if enabled
  • Phone Left Behind Chime – Your car will now tell you if you left a phone inside
  • Charge Limit Per Location – Set a charge limit for each location
  • ISS Docking Simulator –  New game
  • Additional Improvements – Turn off wireless charging pad, Spotify improvements, Rainbow Rave Cave, Lock Sound TRON addition

On Monday, just a few days after Tesla first announced the Holiday Update, people started reporting that it was being deployed to owners.

It seems the release is a bit of an apology to a particular group, as it has only made its way to Hardware 3 vehicles, particularly the ones using the AMD Ryzen chip.

Advertisement
-->

Tesla has excluded FSD-purchased and subscribed vehicles that are utilizing Hardware 3, so it seems there is a strategy to this limited rollout.

Two Surprise Additions

Tesla has added two additional features with the Holiday Update, which include a new Storage Space for Dashcam feature that shows how much space you have used and remaining on your USB drive.

Additionally, Tesla gamified Supercharging with a new “Charging Passport” feature, which we reported on earlier today.

Continue Reading