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Tesla Gigafactory 3 assembly lines are taking form ahead of initial Model 3 production

(Credit: Jason Yang/YouTube)

Published

6 years ago

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Looking at the rapid progress of Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, it is difficult to imagine that just a few months ago, the site was mocked for being just a muddy plot of land. Following the completion of the facility’s Phase 1 buildout, work is now underway to install production equipment inside the factory itself. If a recently leaked email from Tesla’s President of Automotive is any indication, it appears that even the installation of Gigafactory 3’s assembly lines is progressing at record speed. 

In his email to Tesla employees, Jerome Guillen, who was promoted to President of Automotive last year, mentioned that Tesla is making preparations to raise the output of the Fremont, CA plant, the location where the Model S, Model 3, and Model X are currently being produced. While Guillen didn’t provide specifics in his message, he did state that employees “will be delighted with the upcoming developments” in the electric car production facility. 

Guillen also provided a rare update on the progress of Gigafactory 3, which has been rapidly taking form since its groundbreaking ceremony in January. Gigafactory 3 stands as a critical component of Tesla’s strategy in China, the automotive industry’s largest electric vehicle market, with the company stating that if the facility enters “volume production” in early Q4, Tesla could hit a production rate equivalent to 500,000 vehicles per year. The Automotive President, for his part, noted in his email to employees that several parts of Gigafactory 3’s assembly lines are already in place. 

“The Stamping, Body, Paint, and General Assembly lines in China are well underway and hitting records in both line design and fabrication,” Guillen wrote, according to a Bloomberg report. 

A glimpse of this progress could be seen in a recent drone flyover by Tesla enthusiast Jason Yang, who was able to capture some footage of the ongoing work inside the facility, including spaces that appear to be intended for robots that will be used in the factory. Apart from the insanely quick progress in the main general assembly building, other facilities in the complex are also taking form, such as a substation southwest of the main factory, which is expected to be completed by September. If this timeline proves accurate, the substation will start operations just as the initial production runs for the Model 3 are beginning. 

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Tesla has already opened pre-orders for China-made Model 3s at the end of May, with the company informing reservation holders that deliveries will likely start in 6-10 months. Considering the date of the announcement, the expected initial deliveries for the locally-made Model 3 are expected to begin sometime between November 2019 and March 2020. Gigafactory 3’s production rate is expected to start at a regulated pace, though Ma Chunlei, Deputy Secretary-General of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government and Director of Shanghai Development and Reform Commission, has noted that the facility should reach an output of around 3,000 vehicles per week when it starts hitting volume production. 

Watch the recent Gigafactory 3 flyover in the video below. 

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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.

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Elon Musk

NYC Comptroller moves to sue Tesla for securities violations

Published

9 hours ago

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April 1, 2025

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MINISTÉRIO DAS COMUNICAÇÕES, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is urging the NYC Law Department to sue Tesla for securities violations related to CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Lander said the basis for the potential litigation lies on “material misstatements from Tesla claiming that CEO Elon Musk spends significant time on the company and is highly active in its management, despite his helming the Trump Administration’s DOGE initiative.”

It is a common complaint amongst some Tesla shareholders who are less than enthusiastic about Musk’s involvement in DOGE. Some feel as if Musk is not concerned about Tesla, especially as the stock has dropped over 28 percent this year. However, Musk has continued to double down on his position within the U.S. government.

Nevertheless, Musk’s position in Tesla is still very apparent. He headed an All-Hands meeting just two weeks ago that showed his commitment to the company as he outlined future plans and even joked to employees that they should hold onto their stock.

However, Lander believes Musk’s involvement has hurt New York City pension systems, which have lost over $300 million so far this year. He said:

“In less than three months, Tesla stock has lost nearly 40% of its value, with losses over $300 million for the New York City pension systems. We have long expressed concerns that the Tesla board has failed to provide independent oversight, or to require that Musk – or someone else – serve as a full-time CEO.”

Lander went on to say that “material misstatements from Tesla misled investors about his role at the company,” stating this was his reasoning for calling on the Law Department to file securities litigation against the company.

He believes taking it to court will force changes and will return Tesla shares back to a level that will benefit pension systems in New York City:

“Shareholder litigation could force the changes in governance and leadership that Tesla needs, and help recover some of our pension systems’ losses. Otherwise, we may need to consider divestment.”

The pension systems would be able to pursue financial damages to cover losses and seek governance changes, it says.

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Elon Musk

Tesla is testing a Model 3 with some mysterious cameras in the U.S.

Published

10 hours ago

on

April 1, 2025

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Credit: u/Ready_Medium_6693

Tesla is testing a Model 3 with some mysterious cameras, potentially hinting toward the imminent release of the Cybercab and robotaxi platform in the United States.

After Tesla unveiled the Cybercab in Los Angeles in early October, the company suggested that it would be on its way to launching driverless rides in the U.S. in the near future.

Now, Tesla is inching toward a driverless ride-hailing service in Austin, Texas, among some other potential locations, but it is still working toward a platform that is robust enough to handle it.

Although the company’s Full Self-Driving suite is one of the more advanced on the market, Tesla is still working to accomplish what it feels is a mode of transportation that is safer than a human driver. The robotaxi and Cybercab rollouts will likely accomplish that, but there is still work to be done beforehand.

Now, Tesla is testing a Model 3 in the U.S. that was spotted in several different locations in the Northeastern part of the country, as cameras are seen on this vehicle in locations that are not necessarily typical for what it offers currently:

Another one is seen here:

Interestingly, we saw similar camera locations on the Cybercab at the event in October. Tesla is not testing the Cybercab but instead implementing these cameras on a comparable position on its other vehicles.

These are the cameras we spotted on the Cybercab at the event in October:

In the past, Tesla has used a variety of strategies to measure self-driving accuracy, including LiDAR, which has been seen on some testing mules that we have spotted out in public.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that the company does not need LiDAR on testing mules for ground truth, but we still spot them from time to time on public roads.

It’s an appropriate way just to cross Ts and dot Is:

Tesla Model X testing mule spotted with LiDAR rig ahead of Robotaxi event

The company is still moving toward that initial rollout of driverless ride-hailing in Austin in June, and some company executives have stated that the Cybercab will be the vehicle it uses for these initial rides.

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Elon Musk

Tesla adds security feature to Android with latest software update

Published

11 hours ago

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April 1, 2025

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Credit: @greggertruck/X

Tesla is bolstering its release of features to Android users as it is rolling out some new things with its latest software update.

Update v4.43.5 will see Tesla add a Dashcam Viewer for Android phones, a new feature that will make it simpler to access and manage both Dashcam and Sentry Mode videos. This has been available to iPhone users for some time, but Android owners have not had access to this quite yet.

Tesla describes the release of the feature in release notes (via Not a Tesla App):

“The Dashcam Viewer is now available in the Tesla app for Android users.

The Dashcam Viewer makes it easy to access and manage your car’s Dashcam and Sentry Mode videos. Accessing videos on your phone is faster and more convenient, but it does come with a few requirements.

The Dashcam Viewer in the Tesla app allows you to view, delete, or save video clips right from your device. This should result in higher quality content being shared online and fewer videos of owners recording their Tesla’s screens with their phones.”

The feature creates a more convenient option to view things that your Tesla has captured on its dashcam or on its external cameras through Sentry Mode, its security camera system that records things that happen around the vehicle.

Sentry Mode has been a great addition for Tesla owners lately, as more and more instances of vandalism have been occurring in the past few months.

It seems Tesla might have made it a point to roll this feature out, especially as it would allow those who are getting Sentry Mode alerts to capture footage of keying or tire slashing, two common techniques used by those who dislike Tesla and/or Elon Musk.

Tesla quietly added this extra Sentry Mode feature to deter vandals

The last time Tesla rolled out some features to Android owners was in January when it beefed up offerings for those who do not use iOS. The January update saw Phone Key Improvements and Hands-Free Trunk Opening make their way to Android users.

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