I feel as if this is something important to write about since Tesla’s the loudest voice for sustainability and the world is watching CEO Elon Musk’s every move. Giga Texas may be huge, and what Tesla’s doing may be a technological marvel, but it’s also necessary for sustainability.
While many headlines focused on the glitz and glamor of the launch party, and yes, one of my pieces was focused on that as well, I also want to focus on what is important that isn’t beautiful drone shows, Elon’s dances at Giga Berlin and Shanghai, or the badassness of the Cybertruck and the Tesla Semi. All of these are important and exciting, but what’s even more important is the work that Tesla and its team are doing for the future of sustainability and for humanity.
It all starts with a tiny thing — a battery cell. This, compared to the glitz and glamour, may seem boring to some, but it’s a critical component of Tesla’s success. And the factory itself — the machine that builds the machine — has changed the way clean energy vehicles are going to be manufactured.
In his remarks, Elon pointed out that Giga Texas is the most advanced car factory that our planet has ever seen.
“You know, a factory is advanced if it feels like an alien dreadnought landed.”
He elaborated on the lessons the Tesla team has learned from Fremont. In the photo below, Elon pointed out that everything was separate and that there was a lot of movement.
• Future Production.
• General Assembly.
• Battery.
• Cell.
• Plastics.
• Paint.
• Drive unit.
• Casting.
• Body.
• Stamping.
“This is a case of raw materials coming in one side. They get formed into a cell. They get into a pack. Then we cast the front-rear body. The pack itself is structural. And out comes a finished product. So, it’s raw materials in one side, cars out the other side.”
Regarding Tesla’s own battery cells, Elon pointed out what he and the team thinks is the most advanced cell in the world — a cell being manufactured at Giga Texas. He shared a bit of the footage during the keynote speech and said that it was from Giga Texas. In the footage, you can see battery cells being made.
“We think over time this will probably be the biggest cell factory in the world.”
