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Tesla Gigafactory Berlin’s revolutionary paint shop is coming to life
Tesla Gigafactory Berlin’s revolutionary paint shop appears to be coming together. Local reports indicate that paint equipment deliveries have been continuing and a little testbed for the paint facility may in the process of installation. The EV manufacturer teamed up with Geico Taikisha, a leader in the design and construction of turnkey automated auto body paint, for Giga Berlin’s next-gen paint shop. Last month, the first batch of machines was delivered to the German plant’s site.
Local drone-operator @gigafactory_4 observed that Tesla may have installed some of the Geico Taikisha equipment for Giga Berlin’s paint shop in a little testbed. While the exact location of said testbed was not specified, the drone-operator did clarify that Giga Berlin’s Geico Taikisha machines were stored close to the construction zone.
According to Elon Musk, “Giga Berlin will have [the] world’s most advanced paint shop, with more layers of stunning colors that subtly change with curvature.” Tesla’s paint shop in Berlin will be one-of-a-kind when it is fully built. Tesla plans to retrofit the Fremont Factory and Giga Shanghai with the same advanced technology once Giga Berlin’s tech and innovations are proven.
For more pictures follow this link:https://t.co/e7dXeOAIBp
Further information:
Geico Taiki Sha is the company equipping the paint building with mashines. They store the mashines close to #GigaBerlin. It seems they installed a little testbed and store structural parts there.— Giga Berlin / Gigafactory 4 (@gigafactory_4) October 11, 2020
There’s a high chance Tesla could approve Geico Taikisha’s machines for Fremont and Shanghai. The Italian auto paint company applies six main strategies to its machines that line up well with Tesla’s general goals–not just in the paint shop–and it could deliver the results the EV automaker wants.
Geico Taikisha’s strategies aim to boost plant performance, reduce delivery time, improve human/machine communication, and maintain/refine quality, all while consuming energy efficiently in a paint shop. Based on the company’s website, the strategies it applies include a smart design, an IoT System, production flexibility, a smart plant management plan, a smart energy management system, and its J-suite digital platform.
Berlin will use 4680 cell with structural battery pack & front & rear single piece castings. Also, a new paint system.
Lot of new technology will happen in Berlin, which means significant production risk. Fremont & Shanghai will transition in ~2 years when new tech is proven.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 7, 2020
Geico Taikisha’s strategies reveal that the company might be as progressive as Tesla. They also hint that Geico Taikisha is innovative. Being progressive and innovative are two qualities that fit seamlessly with how the American EV automaker works, thinks, and makes decisions.
As such, their collaboration may prove more than just fruitful. Based on Tesla and Geico Taikshia’s similarities, it is no wonder Elon Musk seems ecstatic about Giga Berlin’s paint shop.
New deep crimson from Giga Berlin is my favorite— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 19, 2020
The Tesla CEO has already gone on record and stated that his new favorite color would be Deep Crimson from Giga Berlin. Musk’s Model S was spotted sporting Giga Berlin’s Deep Crimson paint at SpaceX headquarters in July, and it was received positively by the electric vehicle community.
Elon Musk’s Deep Crimson Model S may not have been painted by Geico Taikisha machines in Giga Berlin, but it somewhat provides a good hint at what Tesla’s paint shops could achieve in the future. It might be wise for the Tesla community to keep an eye out for Giga Berlin’s first Deep Crimson Model Y.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk confirms xAI’s purchase of five 380 MW natural gas turbines
The deal, which was confirmed by Musk on X, highlights xAI’s effort to aggressively scale its operations.
xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, has purchased five additional 380 MW natural gas turbines from South Korea’s Doosan Enerbility to power its growing supercomputer clusters.
The deal, which was confirmed by Musk on X, highlights xAI’s effort to aggressively scale its operations.
xAI’s turbine deal details
News of xAI’s new turbines was shared on social media platform X, with user @SemiAnalysis_ stating that the turbines were produced by South Korea’s Doosan Enerbility. As noted in an Asian Business Daily report, Doosan Enerbility announced last October that it signed a contract to supply two 380 MW gas turbines for a major U.S. tech company. Doosan later noted in December that it secured an order for three more 380 MW gas turbines.
As per the X user, the gas turbines would power an additional 600,000+ GB200 NVL72 equivalent size cluster. This should make xAI’s facilities among the largest in the world. In a reply, Elon Musk confirmed that xAI did purchase the turbines. “True,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
xAI’s ambitions
Recent reports have indicated that xAI closed an upsized $20 billion Series E funding round, exceeding the initial $15 billion target to fuel rapid infrastructure scaling and AI product development. The funding, as per the AI startup, “will accelerate our world-leading infrastructure buildout, enable the rapid development and deployment of transformative AI products.”
The company also teased the rollout of its upcoming frontier AI model. “Looking ahead, Grok 5 is currently in training, and we are focused on launching innovative new consumer and enterprise products that harness the power of Grok, Colossus, and 𝕏 to transform how we live, work, and play,” xAI wrote in a post on its website.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s xAI closes upsized $20B Series E funding round
xAI announced the investment round in a post on its official website.
xAI has closed an upsized $20 billion Series E funding round, exceeding the initial $15 billion target to fuel rapid infrastructure scaling and AI product development.
xAI announced the investment round in a post on its official website.
A $20 billion Series E round
As noted by the artificial intelligence startup in its post, the Series E funding round attracted a diverse group of investors, including Valor Equity Partners, Stepstone Group, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Qatar Investment Authority, MGX, and Baron Capital Group, among others.
Strategic partners NVIDIA and Cisco Investments also continued support for building the world’s largest GPU clusters.
As xAI stated, “This financing will accelerate our world-leading infrastructure buildout, enable the rapid development and deployment of transformative AI products reaching billions of users, and fuel groundbreaking research advancing xAI’s core mission: Understanding the Universe.”
xAI’s core mission
Th Series E funding builds on xAI’s previous rounds, powering Grok advancements and massive compute expansions like the Memphis supercluster. The upsized demand reflects growing recognition of xAI’s potential in frontier AI.
xAI also highlighted several of its breakthroughs in 2025, from the buildout of Colossus I and II, which ended with over 1 million H100 GPU equivalents, and the rollout of the Grok 4 Series, Grok Voice, and Grok Imagine, among others. The company also confirmed that work is already underway to train the flagship large language model’s next iteration, Grok 5.
“Looking ahead, Grok 5 is currently in training, and we are focused on launching innovative new consumer and enterprise products that harness the power of Grok, Colossus, and 𝕏 to transform how we live, work, and play,” xAI wrote.
Investor's Corner
Tesla gets price target bump, citing growing lead in self-driving
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock received a price target update from Pierre Ferragu of Wall Street firm New Street Research, citing the company’s growing lead in self-driving and autonomy.
On Tuesday, Ferragu bumped his price target from $520 to $600, stating that the consensus from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was that Tesla’s lead in autonomy has been sustained, is growing, and sits at a multiple-year lead over its competitors.
CES 2026 validates Tesla’s FSD strategy, but there’s a big lag for rivals: analyst
“The signal from Vegas is loud and clear,” the analyst writes. “The industry isn’t catching up to Tesla; it is actively validating Tesla’s strategy…just with a 12-year lag.”
The note shows that the company’s prowess in vehicle autonomy is being solidified by lagging competitors that claim to have the best method. The only problem is that Tesla’s Vision-based approach, which it adopted back in 2022 with the Model 3 and Model Y initially, has been proven to be more effective than competitors’ approach, which utilizes other technology, such as LiDAR and sensors.
Currently, Tesla shares are sitting at around $433, as the company’s stock price closed at $432.96 on Tuesday afternoon.
Ferragu’s consensus on Tesla shares echoes that of other Wall Street analysts who are bullish on the company’s stock and position within the AI, autonomy, and robotics sector.
Dan Ives of Wedbush wrote in a note in mid-December that he anticipates Tesla having a massive 2026, and could reach a $3 trillion valuation this year, especially with the “AI chapter” taking hold of the narrative at the company.
Ives also said that the big step in the right direction for Tesla will be initiating production of the Cybercab, as well as expanding on the Robotaxi program through the next 12 months:
“…as full-scale volume production begins with the autonomous and robotics roadmap…The company has started to test the all-important Cybercab in Austin over the past few weeks, which is an incremental step towards launching in 2026 with important volume production of Cybercabs starting in April/May, which remains the golden goose in unlocking TSLA’s AI valuation.”
Tesla analyst breaks down delivery report: ‘A step in the right direction’
Tesla has transitioned from an automaker to a full-fledged AI company, and its Robotaxi and Cybercab programs, fueled by the Full Self-Driving suite, are leading the charge moving forward. In 2026, there are major goals the company has outlined. The first is removing Safety Drivers from vehicles in Austin, Texas, one of the areas where it operates a ride-hailing service within the U.S.
Ultimately, Tesla will aim to launch a Level 5 autonomy suite to the public in the coming years.