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Tesla Gets the Go-Ahead for Fremont Factory Expansion

To make the Model 3 happen, Tesla Motors needs to ramp up its production output. In this regard, the Palo Alto-based EV company intends to almost double the size of its Fremont plant.
Tesla Fremont plant 11 photos
Photo: Tesla Motors
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As fate would have it, Fremont’s authorities gave Tesla Motors the OK to expand the manufacturing site from today’s 5.3 million square feet to 9.9 million square feet. Of course, the bigger footprint is needed for the upcoming Model 3, which received almost 400,000 reservations from would-be owners.

On the city’s website, Staff Report 2840 acknowledges the “construction of approximately 4.6 million square feet of new structures to support additional automobile production.” Furthermore, we are told that “most of the new floor area [4.6 million square feet] would consist of warehouse uses associated with the primary use of the site for automobile manufacturing.”

The report also highlights that Fremont currently employs 6,210 people who produce 2,000 vehicles per week or thereabout. Thanks to the planning of 11 new buildings, those figures will undoubtedly go up to meet demand. Be that as it may, Tesla has yet to announce when the expansion would begin.

By all accounts, Elon Musk needs to act quickly considering that the Gigafactory wants to add 1,000 workers during the first half of 2017. The Sparks, Nevada-based site intends to reach 35 GWh of battery production in 2018. In the long run, the manufacturer’s head honcho expects to ramp up production to 150 GWh and employ something like 10,000 people, including Panasonic’s on-site specialists. As a brief refresher, Panasonic agreed to invest heavily in the Gigafactory for Tesla to produce those batteries.

With volume production expected to start as early as July 1, 2017, the Tesla Model 3 is a make or break moment for the electric vehicle brand. The base model, which is expected to cost $35,000 before applicable incentives, promises at least 215 miles (346 kilometers) of EPA-rated range on a full charge and a 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) time of less than 6.0 seconds.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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