How Tesla Builds Electric Cars | Tesla Motors Part 2 (WIRED)
Summary
TLDRIn October 2010, Tesla acquired a former GM-Toyota joint venture factory in Fremont for a low price during the industry's struggle. They revamped the factory, aiming for a clean, bright, and open environment similar to SpaceX's, to foster quality production. With 160 advanced robots and a focus on automation, they also recognized the need for human intelligence, leveraging talent from nearby universities. The Model S's unique components required extensive in-house processes, including machining, coding, and painting, leading to high integration and speed, which are crucial for innovation and adaptability. The factory holds significant potential for future growth.
Takeaways
- 🏭 The Tesla factory in Fremont was previously a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota called NUMMI, which was acquired by Tesla at a low price during a struggling industry period.
- 🚀 The factory was refurbished with inspiration from the clean and open environment of the SpaceX factory, emphasizing a bright and quality workspace.
- 💡 The factory design includes white ceilings and columns, and the addition of skylights to create a sense of ease and quality, which is believed to enhance the production of quality products.
- 🤖 Tesla utilizes about 160 state-of-the-art robots for diverse tasks, highlighting the importance of automation for repeatability and accuracy in manufacturing.
- 🧠 Despite the efficiency of robots, the script emphasizes the importance of human intelligence, suggesting a balanced approach where humans are utilized for tasks that benefit from their intelligence.
- 🌟 The factory's location in Silicon Valley allows access to a pool of highly educated talent from prestigious universities, which is leveraged to improve automation.
- 🚗 The Model S electric vehicle has unique components like drive units, battery packs, and modules that are not found elsewhere, requiring extensive in-house manufacturing processes.
- 🔧 Tesla performs about 95% of its manufacturing processes in-house, including machining, coding, painting, and the production of the central display, indicating a high level of integration.
- 🔄 The in-house manufacturing allows for speed, innovation, adaptability, and flexibility, which are seen as intrinsic values for the company's future growth.
- 📈 The script suggests a significant potential for growth, with opportunities to expand the product line and bring more offerings to the market.
- 🛠️ The Tesla factory represents a commitment to continuous improvement in process efficiency and a unique approach to combining automation with human expertise.
Q & A
What was the factory in Fremont before Tesla acquired it?
-The factory in Fremont was previously the home of NUMMI, a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota.
Why was Tesla able to purchase the factory at a low price?
-Tesla was able to purchase the factory at a low price because the auto industry was struggling at the time.
What was the state of the Tesla factory when they first acquired it?
-The Tesla factory needed to be refurbished from scratch when they first acquired it.
What was the inspiration for the design of the Tesla factory?
-The design of the Tesla factory was inspired by the SpaceX factory, which was clean, bright, and open.
What changes did Tesla make to the factory to improve the work environment?
-Tesla painted the ceilings and columns white, added skylights for natural light, and focused on creating a quality and comfortable work environment.
Why is the use of automation important in the Tesla factory?
-Automation is important in the Tesla factory for process efficiency, repeatability, and accuracy of motion in tasks.
How many robots does the Tesla factory utilize, and what are they capable of?
-The Tesla factory utilizes about 160 robots capable of performing very diverse tasks with the latest technology available.
What is the advantage of having highly educated people in Silicon Valley working on Tesla's automation?
-Highly educated people from nearby universities can help improve the automation processes, leveraging their talent and knowledge.
What makes the production of the Model S unique compared to other vehicles?
-The Model S is unique because many of its components, such as the drive units, battery pack, and battery modules, do not exist anywhere else and require more sub-processes within the factory.
What percentage of the production process does Tesla handle in-house?
-Tesla handles about 95% of the production process in-house, including machining, coding, painting, and the center display.
What are the benefits of having a high level of integration in the Tesla factory?
-A high level of integration speeds up production, enhances innovation, adaptability, and flexibility.
What opportunities does the future hold for the Tesla factory in terms of growth and product offerings?
-The future holds opportunities for growth and bringing more products to the market, with huge potential for the Tesla factory.
Outlines
🏭 Tesla Factory Transformation
The script discusses the transformation of a factory in Fremont, originally a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota, into a Tesla facility. The factory was acquired by Tesla in October 2010 at a relatively low cost during a challenging time for the industry. The aim was to refurbish the factory from the ground up, inspired by the cleanliness and openness of the SpaceX factory. The focus was on creating a bright, open environment with white ceilings and columns, and incorporating skylights to enhance the sense of quality and comfort for workers. The goal was to foster a culture of continuous improvement and process efficiency, utilizing the latest in automation with 160 robots and leveraging the local talent pool from prestigious universities in Silicon Valley.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Factory
💡Refurbish
💡SpaceX
💡Robots
💡Automation
💡Quality
💡Process Efficiency
💡Silicon Valley
💡Model S
💡Integration
💡Innovation
Highlights
Tesla acquired the factory in Freemont in October 2010, previously a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota.
The factory was purchased at a low price during the industry's struggle.
The factory was refurbished from scratch, inspired by the cleanliness and openness of the SpaceX factory.
The factory was designed with white ceilings and columns, and skylights for a bright and quality atmosphere.
Quality is linked to the psychological comfort of workers in a well-lit and clean environment.
Process efficiency is constantly improved through the use of automation.
Tesla employs approximately 160 of the latest robots on the planet for diverse tasks.
Humans are recognized as more intelligent than robots, used where their intelligence adds value.
Silicon Valley's talent from top universities is leveraged to improve automation.
The Model S's electric vehicle components are unique and require more in-house sub processes.
Tesla does about 95% of its manufacturing in-house, including machining, coding, painting, and the center display.
High level of integration within the factory speeds up innovation, adaptability, and flexibility.
Tesla has significant growth potential and plans to bring more products to the market.
Robots excel in repeatability and accuracy of motion in manufacturing tasks.
The factory's design and operations reflect a commitment to quality and efficiency.
Tesla's factory is a model of vertical integration and in-house manufacturing capabilities.
The factory's location in Silicon Valley provides access to a skilled workforce from nearby universities.
Transcripts
before Tesla moved in back in October
2010 this Factory in freeboard was the
home of new me which was a joint venture
between General Motors and Toyota it was
at the time where two industry was
struggling and we were able to buy this
back to him for relatively low purchase
price and we decided to essentially
refurbish the factory from scratch
I was based at SpaceX making rockets and
the SpaceX Factory it was really super
clean super light super open and so when
we were able to acquire the Tesla
factory we said okay we need to make it
similar to SpaceX we're gonna paint the
ceilings white the columns white I'm
gonna make it bright while we have the
ability to add skylights we're going to
have the light from the sky you know and
the psychology of that is if you want
quality you need people to feel at ease
you need people to feel like this is a
quality place here I need to make a
quality product we constantly try to
improve process efficiency we're
utilizing automation to the fullest we
have about 160 robots the latest
technology you can find on the planet
that are able to do very diverse tasks
robots are extremely good at
repeatability accuracy of motion but
humans are more intelligent than robots
therefore we need to use humans where
there's a lot of value for that
intelligence here we are in Silicon
Valley right so you have wonderful
universities you know Stanford Berkeley
UC Davis you name it too we have a lot
of talent so we want to take full
advantage of having highly educated
people help us improve the automation
you
what is unique about building the Model
S's electric vehicle is a lot of the
components are actually very different
like the drive units the battery pack
the battery modules a lot of those
components do not exist anywhere else so
we need to do a lot more than any other
factories that I have been add in terms
of sub processes inside the factory we
do about 95% of our time cleaning house
we do a lot of the machining in-house we
do some coding in-house we do painting
in-house we do the center display
in-house so the level of integration is
very very high and because everything is
here it speeds things up greatly and
that speed has a lot of intrinsic value
in terms of innovation adaptability
flexibility all of them in the future we
have a lot of opportunity to grow and
bring more this product to the market
and so you know huge potential here
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