From Joe Tegtmeyer.
Gigafactory Texas! This is where Model Y’s, and Cyber Truck production happens and in 2026, the Next Generation Car(s), Cybercab & the Optimus Robot!
Once again, I flew on Thursday afternoon because I was in Austin for more Robotaxi rides today along with a few other events. Because of this, and some visiting friend coming in from out of town tomorrow, I elected to fly today and get updated images and videos for my upcoming 30 January video.
Of note, normally Friday would be a down day, but because of the ice storm and the factory being closed on Monday, the production schedule shifted to Tue-Fri this week. Nonetheless, I think I captured some great updated images and video today!
Timestamps:
Drone flight overview with discussion & illustration: 0:06 to 5:55
Drone flight footage & infographics: 6:16 to 33:49
Following up on the significant updates from Tesla during the 4th Quarter & FY 2025 Financial Results Meeting, I share some of my thoughts on the direction the company is now taking as more of a transportation service provider rather than vehicle producer, physical AI provider (through Optimus & the vehicles, specifically Robotaxi & Cybercab), the plans for Cybertruck, Construction of massive AI Data Centers, an Energy provider via Megapacks & Megablocks, Battery maker and more.
I also relate all these developments, the planned $20B CAPEX in 2026. the upcoming Cybercab production start & the construction of a new 10M/year Optimus production facility to Giga Texas and how this will be the center gf gravity & the recipient of a majority of that $20B CAPEX this year. Buckle up … things are about to get interesting!
For today’s flight, we see more amazingly fast progress with Cortex 2’s chiller plant, as part 1 now is getting 4 fan housings and fan units, along with their motors and drive mechanisms installed on top of the cooling towers.
Part 2 is getting more rebar cages assembled and installed for more concrete along the bases of the perimeter walls. There appears to be the start of excavation work for Part 3 of the chiller system, and if this is the case, the cooling capacity of Cortex 2 will be up to 3 times more than the cooling unit for Cortex 1 on the south end of the main factory!
On the west side, we now have 64 Megapacks installed along the side of Cortex 2 with an additional 16 arriving on the south end. This total of 80 is already larger than the Megapack installation that serves Cortex 1, and I do expect this site to at least double and perhaps triple once all are installed!
This combined with the other two Megapacks already on site would make Giga Texas one of the largest installations in the US, and a top 15 in the world!
Production is moving along nicely today even though this is a Friday because of the closure on Monday due to the winter ice storm. This is an attempt, along with overtime, to try and catch back up to their projected production schedules.
At the crash testing facility, we see movement of some of the tested Cybercabs, possibly preparing for the recycling of these vehicles now that they are no longer needed.
Finally, the Lippmann concrete crushing operations is being set up at the Northeast of the Cathode plant. This will finally remove all the old and broken up concrete from earlier years of construction and change of plans at the factory.
By cleaning all this up, space for a new construction project will be made available and this could be related to a new permit that is for the Cathode “Bobcat” 1.5. The original permits for the construction of the Cathode plant referred to it as ”Bobcat 1”, so the is likely related, but might be for Anode manufacturing. I’ll keep an eye out for that as time goes on.
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.
Follow me on
Patreon https://www.patreon.com/joeslastchancegarage
X @JoeTegtmeyer
Instagram (Joe’s Last Chance Garage) for the latest updates: #joeslastchancegarage
Facebook Joe Tegtmeyer and Joe’s Last Chance Garage
If you are interested in purchasing Tesla Products, consider using my referral code!
https://www.tesla.com/referral/joe66892
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
