From Joe Tegtmeyer.
Gigafactory Texas! This is where Model Y’s, and Cyber Truck production happens and in 2025, the Next Generation Car(s), Cybercab & the Optimus Robot!
On this slow news day, I’m glad to be able to fly and share some images of the activity going on here at Giga Texas on this cloudy morning! As a reminder, Fridays are not production days (have been so for about 1 year) so most of the activity is with construction today, although there are many vehicles at the outbound lot getting ready to load up on trucks for transport off site this week.
Timestamps:
Drone flight overview with discussion & illustration: 0:06 to 2:53
Drone flight footage & infographics: 3:16 to 29:11
In the video introduction, I discuss two large deliveries today to the casting machine section. These are Hencon Aluminum bath tipping machines (www.hencon.com). This is a type of vehicle specially made for professional bath tapping and discharging and is designed to improve cell performance, pot room efficiency and accuracy.
These vehicles are valued for their maneuverability, on-board air compressors and assisted control mechanisms. This design can reach all pots, even when other cranes are in the way. The closed system means that contact between liquid aluminum and the air is avoided, resulting in minimal dross.
With these deliveries, Tesla is adding more capability to the aluminum recycling processes inside the casting machine section while also ensuring a better quality of aluminum by reducing the contaminant’s inherent with air contact. I think this is a great indication of how mature their capabilities have become and should continue to help drive down production costs.
There are additional developments around the site today. A few of these to look out for include:
On the roof of the parking garage, we see a small employee car show underway … this is a great thing Tesla allows its employees to do and not only boosts morale but also shows how much of regular car enthusiast the employees are at the factory. Pretty neat to see!
Caisson tunnel concrete segment installation near the south bridge continues, with more of these concrete segments being delivered this morning, while the large crane lifts them one-by-one into the bottom of the caisson before they are pushed into the tunnel bore. I also check on the caisson located south of the Colorado River, and we see the bottom has a lot of dirt and water in it, so for now, no tunnel segment work is underway.
The southwest corner of the main factory new entrance and loading door has had all of the textured material applied and is now getting a dark gray stain on the exterior wall surface.
The southeast cooling plant has a crane at work, with many workers on the roof working on what appears to be a fan motor or electrical box. It is unclear if the crane is lifting items for this work, or if it is preparing for water manifold work on the ground level.
At the electrical switchyard, more progress has been made constructing the new underground vault, including two smaller square concrete vaults that will allow conduit to enter the ground slab, once it is prepared and poured with concrete. Surrounding the area, the graded sections seem ready to support the start of additional construction that will allow for the expansion of the switchyard to commence.
Cortex 2’s new facility continues to get more walls installed, starting on the south end and then working to the north, crews are busy adding steel studs, blue wall panels and extending these into a parapet wall which will give the building a squared off appearance from the ground and hiding the sloped roof decking.
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:
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Be sure to check out additional Texas Gigafactory footage on these channels:
@Jeff Roberts
@Brad Sloan
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
