From Joe Tegtmeyer.
Gigafactory Texas! This is where Model Y’s, and Cybertruck production happens and in 2025, the Next Generation Car(s), Cortex 1 & 2, Cybercab & the Optimus Robot!
Just back from visiting the Tesla Lithium Plant near Corpus Christi and a week at Starbase for the successful Starship Flight 12 launch and following a long Memorial Day Weekend, so there are many new developments to talk about and see around the factory and get caught back up!
As a reminder, this is also my last week of flying over Giga Texas until mid-June as I will be departing early next week for Europe to attend the X Takeover event in Flachau, Austria and touring Giga Berlin! I will be doing many other Tesla-related events in Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Germany during my time on this trip.
Timestamps:
Drone flight overview with discussion & illustration: 0:06 to 5:31
Drone flight footage & infographics: 5:36 to 29:44
Big announcement … the new Tesla Roadster to be built at Giga Texas! This was confirmed by Lars Moravy on the Ride the Lightning Podcase, Episode 564 along with Franz where they talk about many subjects including the Roadster and the Model S and X’s Legacy. Per Lars, “We can say it’s going to be built in Texas. We’ve made first plans on that, and you start to see a lot of things start to unfold in the next months.”
This may be one of the reasons for the new Test Track under construction on the far southwest of the property! With this development, I guess that means I’ll be on the watch for more deliveries of production equipment and materials for the production line and perhaps some testing on the track. It’ll be a fun summer at the factory!
I can also confirm production of the $59K AWD Cybertruck (which was for sale in late February for 10 days at this special price) has begun and new owners of this new variant of the truck are receiving VINs which means deliveries should begin in just a few weeks in June as Tesla announced at the 1st Quarter Financial Results Meeting!
I did a drone update video on 17 May at the Tesla Lithium plant which was a good opportunity to see how much has changes in the 7 months since I last visited. The plant is operational and it looks like there are a few new buildings and perhaps some modifications (or iterations) of the processing of the Spodumene Concentrate 6 to Lithium Hydroxide Monohydrate, particularly the silicate-rich byproduct material that can be used in concrete. The rest of the site appears cleaned up, although little asphalt or concrete aprons, which surprises me to some degree.
Finally, I provide a brief recap of my trip to Starbase, the events leading up to the launch, and many of the people I met while I was there. I also
For today, there is big news at the new Optimus 10m/y factory construction site! The 1st steel structure has been erected & as expected the second phase of land reclamation is underway. This will allow this new factory to grow to nearly the same length as the main Giga Texas factory, although it will be a few hundred feet (~50 – 70 m) narrower.
A lot of steel beams & columns were being delivered to the site today and using the new staging yard in the nearby “lone tree” field.
The outbound lot at Giga Texas is overflowing with Model Y’s, Cybertrucks and Cybercabs! The sorting lanes near the EOL facility are all full and the line of new cars extends to the Cybertunnel and even further south!
Production of the “standard” AWD Cybertruck is underway and visible, which supports my intro discussion. Expected first deliveries of these lower cost AWD trucks should begin by June!
Cybercabs were driving around, doing figure 8’s on the small track & being loaded onto transport trucks!
Thank you for watching and I hope this has been informative, educational, and entertaining for you. If you would like, please consider supporting me via Patreon (link is in the description of this video and in the video itself) so I can continue to make and share these incredible videos.
Sources used in this video:
Ride the Lightning: Episode 564: Special Guests Franz and Lars Discuss Model S and X’s Legacy
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Be sure to check out additional Texas Gigafactory footage on these channels:
@Jeff Roberts
Video, photos, illustrations, and commentary on this video is by me, Joe Tegtmeyer unless otherwise annotated.
Music in this video is obtained from the YouTube free and unrestricted and royalty-free use library. Ending song is Mr. Sunny Face – Wayne Jones
Drones used are DJI Mini 2, Mavic Air 2 & Air 3.
Drone flight over Giga Texas is with permission of Tesla and CEO Elon Musk
