Connect with us

News

Tesla touts its Model Y ‘Alien Dreadnought’ production lines in China in new video

Credit: Ray4Tesla | Twitter

Published

on

Tesla’s “Alien Dreadnought” Model Y lines at Gigafactory Shanghai in China are being touted in a new promotional video from the automaker released earlier today.

The video was posted by Tesla and shared by owner and enthusiast @Ray4Tesla on Twitter. Showing the numerous production processes of the Model Y crossover at the China plant, the video gives an idea of how automation is one of the key components of accurate, high-quality automotive manufacturing, which has surged Tesla into the stratosphere of China’s EV sector in recent years.

Advertisement

After beginning its project in China in early 2020 with the first deliveries of the Model 3, the Model Y followed closely after. By the end of 2020, Tesla had started the initial production of the Model Y in China. Deliveries began in early 2021, upon the initial exporting of Model 3 units to Europe. The Model Y has overtaken the Model 3 as Tesla’s most popular car, likely due to its similar build but more spacious interior and seating options due to its crossover body style.

In China, the Model Y has been high demand, and Tesla is focusing on its expansive expertise in manufacturing automation to keep up with rising order numbers. Tesla adopted highly automated lines several years ago at its Fremont Facility in Northern California. “Our internal code name for the factory, the machine that builds the machine, is the alien dreadnought,” Musk said on the call. “[When] our factory looks like an alien dreadnought, then we know it’s probably right,” Musk said. The idea to make manufacturing more dependent on automation came before the production of the Model 3 began in 2017. However, Tesla’s Fremont factory never attained a fully automated line as “production hell” made the company abandon the plans. However, the Shanghai factory appears to be adopting this style of manufacturing well as the video shows Tesla’s wide array of robots and automated machinery working to put together the company’s most sought-after car.

Giga Shanghai builds more than 450,000 vehicles per year, according to the company’s Installed Annual Capacity chart on the most recent Earnings Call Shareholder Deck. Between the Model 3 and Model Y, the automaker has solidified itself as one of the top automotive brands in China, only trailing the Wuling-SAIC-GM partnership that established the Wuling HongGuang Mini EV. The vehicles are not really comparable, as the HongGuang Mini EV starts at around $5,000 and does not come with standard features like power windows.

Tesla’s July delivery figures in China will likely be reported soon as the CPCA publishes the automaker’s data on a monthly basis. Tesla does not release its own delivery and production figures like other automakers.

Advertisement

Don’t hesitate to contact us with tips! Email us at tips@teslarati.com, or you can email me directly at joey@teslarati.com.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

Advertisement
Comments

Elon Musk

The Boring Company’s Prufrock-2 emerges after completing new Vegas Loop tunnel

The new tunnel measures 2.28 miles, making it the company’s longest single Vegas Loop tunnel to date.

Published

on

Credit: The Boring Company/X

The Boring Company announced that its Prufrock-2 tunnel boring machine (TBM) has completed another Vegas Loop tunnel in Las Vegas. The company shared the update in a post on social media platform X.

According to The Boring Company’s post, the new tunnel measures 2.28 miles, making it the company’s longest single Vegas Loop tunnel to date.

The new tunnel marks the fourth tunnel constructed near Westgate Las Vegas as the Vegas Loop network continues expanding across the city.

The Boring Company also noted that the new tunnel surpassed its previous internal record of 2.26 miles for a single Vegas Loop segment.

Advertisement

Construction of the tunnel involved moving roughly 68,000 cubic yards of dirt. The excavation process also used about 4.8 miles of continuous conveyor belt, powered by six motors totaling 825 horsepower.

The Boring Company’s Prufrock-series all-electric tunnel boring machines are designed to support the rapid expansion of company’s underground transportation projects, including the growing Vegas Loop network. Prufrock machines are designed for reusability, thanks in no small part to their capability to be deployed and retrieved easily through their “porposing” feature.

The Vegas Loop, specifically the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) Loop segment, has already been used during major events. Most recently, the LVCC Loop supported the 2026 CONEXPO-CON/AGG construction trade show, which was held from March 3-7, 2026. 

As per The Boring Company, the LVCC Loop transported roughly 82,000 passengers across the convention center campus during the event’s duration. 

Advertisement

CONEXPO-CON/AGG is one of the largest construction trade shows in North America, drawing more than 140,000 construction professionals from 128 countries this year.

The LVCC Loop forms the initial segment of the broader Vegas Loop network, which remains under active development as The Boring Company continues building new tunnels throughout the city.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla gathers Cybercab fleet in Gigafactory Texas

Images and video of the Cybercab fleet were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.

Published

on

Credit: Credit: @JoeTegtmeyer/X

Tesla appears to be assembling a growing number of Cybercabs at Gigafactory Texas as preparations continue for the vehicle’s mass production. Recent footage shared online has shown over 30 Cybercabs being transported by trucks or staged near testing areas at the facility.

The images and video were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer and drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.

Interestingly enough, Tegtmeyer noted that many of the Cybercabs being loaded onto transport trucks were still equipped with steering wheels. This suggests that the vehicles are likely testing units rather than the final driverless configuration expected for the company’s Robotaxi service.

The vehicles could potentially be headed to testing sites across the United States as Tesla prepares to expand its Robotaxi fleet.

Advertisement

Additional footage captured at Gigafactory Texas also showed the Cybercab’s side and rear camera washer system operating as vehicles were being loaded onto transport trucks.

The growing number of Cybercabs at Giga Texas comes amidst the company’s announcement that the first production Cybercab has been produced at the facility. Full Cybercab production is expected to begin in April.

The vehicle is expected to play a central role in Tesla’s Robotaxi ambitions as the company looks to expand autonomous ride-hailing operations beyond its early deployments using Model Y vehicles.

Tesla has also linked Cybercab production to its proposed Unboxed manufacturing process, which assembles large vehicle modules separately before integrating them. The approach is intended to reduce production costs and accelerate output.

Advertisement

Musk has also noted that the Cybercab’s ramp will likely begin slowly due to the number of new components and manufacturing steps involved. However, he stated that once the process matures, Cybercab production could scale quickly.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Elon Musk’s xAI, creator of Grok and Grokipedia, celebrates its third birthday

xAI Memphis highlighted several of its milestones over the years in its celebratory post. 

Published

on

Credit: xAI

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI has marked its third anniversary. The update was shared in a post from the xAI Memphis account on social media platform X.

xAI Memphis highlighted several of its milestones over the years in its celebratory post

As per xAI, it has built three massive data centers in the city, launched a coherent cluster of 330,000 GBs, created over 3,000 jobs, and paid over $30 million in taxes to local communities.

xAI’s Memphis operation has become a key part of the company’s infrastructure as the company works to train and deploy its Grok artificial intelligence models. Elon Musk has been quite optimistic about Grok’s potential, noting in the past that the large language model might have a shot at achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI). 

Advertisement

xAI’s Memphis’ crown jewel is its Colossus supercomputer cluster. The project was announced in 2024 and has since become the home of one of the world’s largest AI compute facilities. The first phase of Colossus reached its initial 100,000 GPU operational milestone in just 122 days, or just about four months.

Industry figures such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang have praised the facility, noting that projects of similar scale typically take two to four years to complete.

xAI has cited Memphis’ central location, skilled workforce, and industrial infrastructure as key reasons for selecting the city as the home of its AI training operations. The company has also emphasized plans to expand the site further as it scales compute capacity for Grok and future AI models.

Advertisement
Continue Reading