Photo: Tesla Motors
The factory where Elon Musk’s electric vehicle manufacturer operates is located in Fremont, a city in California where population nudges 232,000 residents. But as deliveries soar and the Model 3 looms on the horizon, Tesla needs to expand its plant.
After the Gigafactory was officially opened on July 29, 2016, the next step is to ramp up production capacity to suit the output of the battery-making plant and the mind-boggling demand for the upcoming Model 3 compact executive sedan. With initial production planned for the end of 2017, time is running short and, for what it’s worth, Tesla has to act quickly about it.
In this regard, the Wall Street Journal cites a zoning proposal forwarded to the Fremont authorities. In the document, Tesla Motors highlights that the Fremont plant would grow from today’s 4.6 million square feet to 9.1 million square feet. The expansion will allow the Palo Alto-based electric vehicle manufacturer to build as many as half a million vehicles per year.
The zoning proposal also suggests that Tesla Fremont would employ as many as 9,315 workers, which is approximately a third more than today’s 6,210-strong workforce. The Fremont Planning Committee will review the proposal on October 13, 2016, looking at the pros and cons of expanding the plant.
To that effect, Tesla Motors owns 25 acres of land in the area next to the plant. If all goes according to plan, Tesla will be able to reach its goal of producing 500,000 vehicles yearly in 2018. To put that apparently optimistic production figure into perspective, Tesla built 50,580 cars in 2015.
Elon Musk is an ambitious man, alright, described as being an alien by a handful of enthusiasts. But if demand for EVs continues to grow, and the automaker follows up the heavily anticipated Model 3 with a sub-Model X crossover, a bus, a pickup truck, and even a semi truck, then Elon Musk’s masterplan for Tesla Motors has chances of success.
In this regard, the Wall Street Journal cites a zoning proposal forwarded to the Fremont authorities. In the document, Tesla Motors highlights that the Fremont plant would grow from today’s 4.6 million square feet to 9.1 million square feet. The expansion will allow the Palo Alto-based electric vehicle manufacturer to build as many as half a million vehicles per year.
The zoning proposal also suggests that Tesla Fremont would employ as many as 9,315 workers, which is approximately a third more than today’s 6,210-strong workforce. The Fremont Planning Committee will review the proposal on October 13, 2016, looking at the pros and cons of expanding the plant.
To that effect, Tesla Motors owns 25 acres of land in the area next to the plant. If all goes according to plan, Tesla will be able to reach its goal of producing 500,000 vehicles yearly in 2018. To put that apparently optimistic production figure into perspective, Tesla built 50,580 cars in 2015.
Elon Musk is an ambitious man, alright, described as being an alien by a handful of enthusiasts. But if demand for EVs continues to grow, and the automaker follows up the heavily anticipated Model 3 with a sub-Model X crossover, a bus, a pickup truck, and even a semi truck, then Elon Musk’s masterplan for Tesla Motors has chances of success.
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