Gigafactory Texas on 11 January 2023! This is where Model Y’s are built and soon Cyber Truck production will start!
I tried to fly when I arrived a few minutes ago, but the fog rolled in quickly, so I couldn’t do much with my initial attempt at a video. I ended up waiting about 2 hours until it cleared up enough to fly.
Despite this, I was able to fly for a few minutes and saw a lot of interesting developments that I really wanted to capture once visibility improved. One of the things I was able to see on the north end before it got too bad, was a huge delivery of large IDRA crates arriving at the northeast corner of the casting machine structure. Also, I saw several Model Y test bodies, in both 2170 and 4680 varieties along with several test castings.
After waiting a few hours after my first brief flight when the fog rolled in, I was able to get in a full video and a lot more images on this very busy day with more significant deliveries of IDRA parts for the 9K-ton Giga Press. In fact, as I was driving on the highway back to San Antonio after finishing flying, I saw even more huge IDRA deliveries headed up to Giga Texas, including some on River Road on the west side of the main highway!
In addition, I saw a noticeable increase in production of Model Y’s and as mentioned in the intro, we now know some of these are 4680 versions as well! Model Ys were overflowing on the south end, and the east small parking lot was full as well. the new car transport section was also very busy loading up and taking Model Y’s off site today!
As mentioned previously, I noted several test Model Y test bodies on the northeast corner of casting in both 4680 and 2170 variations! It just so happens the Tesla design studio on their main web page is now offering for sale 4680 versions of the Model Y on their website! I think this is good confirmation of what I’m seeing on the site!
Timestamps:
Drone flight overview with discussion & illustration: 0:06 to 2:24
Drone flight footage & infographics: 2:51 to 23:42
Other sights today include significant progress in and around the battery cathode plant, with the new structure steel assembly moving right along, and footing construction as well as concrete pours coming along quickly as well. the electrical switchyard was busy too, with deliveries of large spools of wire, crews working on the cable tray trenches, and utility crews up at the north end working on the newly installed tall steel power poles.
Finally, on the west side of General Assembly, we see some of the temporary wall panels removed, increasing the number of receiving docks in the area where a new concrete apron is being completed. Also, the west main entry shows a lot of grade work in the area where the large concrete section and stairs were removed.
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
Twitter @JoeTegtmeyer
Instagram (Joe’s Last Chance Garage) for the latest updates: #joeslastchancegarage
Facebook Joe Tegtmeyer and Joe’s Last Chance Garage
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” by Wayne Jones
Drones used are DJI Mavic Mini, Mini 2 and Mavic Air 2.
Drone flight over Giga Texas is with permission of Tesla and CEO Elon Musk
Joe: good job today. On the west side of the battery cathode building, I think the large white pipes are actually "spiral" ducts. If you look at the three wheeled supports, they are small compared to the size of the white ducts, indicating that the total weight is much lower than it would be with steel piping.
Why do so much "rework". Seems such a waste of time and money to lay concrete only to cut up, remove it, do something, lay rebar, and then pour more concrete. Why wasn't that work done before the first pour?
15:18 Blade Runner tree 😃
Joe, RE: "Winding" @ new Power Station, Look at the 4 new HT poles. Parked there is a large Tandem Axle Man (person) Lift w/a YELLOW Trailer connected behind it. That could well be the Winder you're looking for. It's large reel is a poly rope that is used in the process. Run the rope thru the pulleys on each insulator or connection & pull the wire back thru, Specialized Linemen (persons) will then provide the ultimate display for everyone to see & admire. I know, I've seen it!
Joe, Thank you for a very informative flight today. Some points and speculations:
10:45 I believe with the opening of more receiving docks, they are changing the intersection to make it easier for transport trucks.
17:46 In the switching area on the north end of the substation they have installed busses from east to west to feed the third load.
18:38 The new monopole is near the existing cables which have insulating sleeves to isolate them.
3:41 I just noticed those green electrical boxes. I'm guessing those are going to replace the two that are at the end of the above ground lines that head to the south end of the building. If so, then that's a good sign that those green boxes that obviously have to go at some point are nearly ready to do so.
Diamonds that are cut in that shape are called emerald-cut diamonds.
i WONDER IF YOU COULD ORDER ONE OF THOSE EMPTY FRAMES?
Joe, did you grow up around Baltimore Washington area. I sense an east coast accent 😅
"End Of Line" is a nod to the movie Tron.
Thank you, sir. You are a treasure because you document the most important change in human history. Great work and great commentary.
Joe for President
Looks like a T
Loving the videos Joe. Seeing the big Giga press arrive makes me more excited to get my Cybertruck
Thanks Joe. I don't know if it is because we see everything going on here most every day, but this plant seems to be in somewhat disarray compared to their other plants especially Giga China. And I'm just an armchair quarterback, but I don't understand why these cars have to be charged before they are shipped. I would think they would charge the batteries in the packs while they are waiting to be installed on the assembly line.
They are already working on cars outside. Could be a madhouse at full throttle.
Thanks for putting in the time for a good video.
Ramped concrete Tesla logo at the main entry?
At 18:30 this is the point where the taller original HV lines cross over the shorter lines that are supplying the temporary switchyard. As the drone continues to move west you can see the smaller lines below. I'm not sure what the significance of this is and why they chose this location. One reason might be that it allows the new HV cables to 'tee' off of the original lines.
Hopefully the warm snap that is supposed to develop over the next few days allows you to get a morning flight with no fog. Nice vid as always.
This is a portion of Chatgpt explanation to what a switchyard is :"Switchyards are typically used to connect the power station to the power grid, and to control the flow of power from the station to the grid" – Does that mean this will also be used to provide the Texas grid with electricity generated by Giga Texas solar panels?
eventually they will need to construct a (((( 10 storey ))))parking garage to accommodate all the eventual employees
I'd like to see Joe do the opening-monologue wearing big white Mickey Mouse gloves. He's definitely a "hand" talker. Maybe April 1. Keep it up, Joe's the best.
Nice work, once again.
Question: Do they have a grid system for parking in the WOW?
Also, is there a tracking number of some sort for inventory control?
Main Entry: I suspect that they're going for "Universal Design", as it's called when something is designed to allow for 'regular' people and disabled people to equally use something. In this case, if they slope the entire entry up to the doors, there is no need for 'stairs for regular people' and separate 'ramps for the mobility challenged' – everyone can approach the doors from anywhere without regard to mobility needs. I'm in this field, so that's my take on this. I look forward to finding out for sure.
i like how you are ending your videos with that nice high elevation pull-back-really helps gain perspective. Great work Joe!
Joe is the best in the business. Great wrap up.
Thanks Joe.
7:23. GA, apron. Small forklift. ‘Tesla Lobby’ marked on the wrapping.
8:52. GA, apron. Temporary timber floors from the loading dock set-downs.
10:24. BIW, apron. Left, between the retaining walls. Possibly excavating in preparation for opening up more loading docks.
10:51. East-west road, north-south road intersection. Small section of tightly curved formwork (steel perhaps), very roundabout/traffic circle-ish.
12:18. Cathode, south. Pressure washing the walls. Pre-paint?
13:20. Cathode, north. Concrete pump, lost?
14:13. Cathode, new building. No connection between the truss columns for the large bridge crane and the building frame. Will be the same on the west side.
Scaffold stair assembled. Roof sheeting shortly.
14:46. Cathode, new building. Good view of the framing required to accurately locate the column hold-down bolts in the footing.
15:52. Cathode, new building. Rebar projecting out of the sides of the concrete footings shows connecting ground beams still to be constructed. Might be after the building frame is assembled.
16:16. Cathode, new building. Rolled steel girts (horizontal members between the columns) suggests vertical wall panelling.
16:57. Switchyard area. Stacks of blue water main pipe and the black pipe likely for the services across to Cathode. Attention Harder NL.
18:21. New Monopoles. Orange insulation on the cables where it is contacting the monopole. Seems improbable (to me anyway).
22:32. Old House Site. Constructing a ramp aimed towards the 3 large protected trees. Removal of trees shortly.
Great job aa always. I look forward to each and every video. Gives me confidence that my Tesla stock are still a good investment in the future!
Wow, production volume is definitely at a whole new level
@1:06 Looks like those BIW's have slightly different front castings, and the 2170 ones have slightly different stampings, one had some holes in the passenger footrest, the other doesn't
Jesus. This must be what it's like to load out the DEATH STAR.
love the video, keep them coming. 10000 thumbs-up. may the Tesla be with you.
Merci👍👍👍
Joe – thanks for great updates. Do you know if there are setting up a Megapack factory at Giga Texas
Great video and intro!
I'm glad to see they're "saving" so many trees around the site, but they need to be cared for. Lots have fencing but many don't and compacting the soil with vehicles or materials will damage the root system, especially the finer roots. Fencing should extend as far as the branches do as that correlates to the extent of the root system. C'mon Tesla! 🌳🌍
The sloping grade by the entrance is starting to look like a Tesla T
14:40. Cathode, new building. Cleaning up the top of the piles.
15:30. I am wondering if this building is for mega packs. That’s the only thing I could come up with that will be a heavy lift used daily.
It looks like the possible beginning of the dirt shaping of the T logo in Tesla at the front entrance… Just a guess!… Thanks again Joe, great work!!!!
Are you going to talk about the four new permits in your next video?
Crazy thought. Perhaps the new building next to Cathode building will have a 9,000T Gigapress on that reinforced piling? The "warehouse" portion could hold all the raw material and stacks of completed castings to assist in the massive production of the CT to fulfill all the pre-orders.
HI Joe! Thanks for the great videos! Where are you based while the drones are up? Are you on the property?
17:02 I wonder how they will keep water from pooling in the "moats" at the base of the transformer foundations. Since the purpose of them is to catch and contain any oil leaked from a damaged transformer, they can't just let them be full of water, and they also can't drain it into the water management system (wouldn't want transformer oil to go into the cyberpond or the river).
I have trouble with the amount of re-work, was there any real planning?
Yay GIGA TEXAS
The sloping mound at the main entrance makes sense by eliminating the need for handicap ramps and stairs that can be a fall hazard. I think this is a great move for ease of access to the building.
Before the new substation is hooked up to the grid, all power and control wiring needs to be installed, along with the controls and backup battery power to operate them. All of the wiring will be checked for resistance and faults, and all of the breakers and switches tested and "exercised" to ensure proper function.