Photo: Tesla | Edited
Tesla is pressing ahead with the construction of its Mexican gigafactory. Fresh reports indicate that Giga Mexico might not be the only new gigafactory Tesla will open soon. Recent discussions with Indonesian officials might suggest that Tesla will once again build two gigafactories at the same time.
Tesla announced during Investor Day that it would build its newest gigafactory in Monterrey, Mexico. This is not a copy-paste after Giga Shanghai as Giga Berlin and Giga Texas, but a revolutionary approach to vehicle manufacturing. Tesla called it the "Unboxed Vehicle" manufacturing process, marking the splitting of the production line into several workflows. This approach allows more people to work on a vehicle simultaneously, shortening production time and improving efficiency.
Tesla intends to build a new, more affordable model in Mexico, leveraging the country's lower-cost labor and natural resources. However, as we learned during Investor Day, Tesla wants to produce at least two new EVs on the Gen-3 automotive platform. That's why it makes sense that it would want to copy Giga Mexico once it's completed and paste it into several locations around the globe. Even if Tesla builds only one EV on the Gen-3 platform, Giga Mexico could not cover the huge global demand for this electric car.
Tom Zhu, the man behind Giga Shanghai's success, supervises Giga Mexico construction. He promised to complete the Mexican factory in less than nine months, this being the record of Giga Shanghai from breaking ground to production. According to Zhu, Giga Mexico will be built simultaneously with another gigafactory, although he didn't say where it would be located. It could be a nothingburger, considering that Tesla is also constructing the Semi factory at Giga Nevada at the same time.
On the other hand, it makes sense that Tesla would want to repeat the history it made with Giga Texas and Giga Berlin built roughly in parallel. Elon Musk said at the time that both factories were "money furnaces" and Tesla was in "production hell." However, Tesla overcame the critical moment, and both factories ramped up production as expected. Tesla is now in a much better position than two years ago when it was working on the two gigafactories. Building two new factories would not be an issue, even with the novel production process being implemented.
Tom Zhu offered this information in a private discussion with Matthew Donegan-Ryan, a retail investor present at Investor Day. He also confirmed that the new production flow pioneered at Giga Mexico will be implemented at other gigafactories, including the existing ones. According to Matthew, Tom Zhu offered a puzzling answer when asked whether the affordable EV would be made of stainless steel, like the Cybertruck. "Paint is expensive," said Zhu, so make of this what you will.
Tesla intends to build a new, more affordable model in Mexico, leveraging the country's lower-cost labor and natural resources. However, as we learned during Investor Day, Tesla wants to produce at least two new EVs on the Gen-3 automotive platform. That's why it makes sense that it would want to copy Giga Mexico once it's completed and paste it into several locations around the globe. Even if Tesla builds only one EV on the Gen-3 platform, Giga Mexico could not cover the huge global demand for this electric car.
Tom Zhu, the man behind Giga Shanghai's success, supervises Giga Mexico construction. He promised to complete the Mexican factory in less than nine months, this being the record of Giga Shanghai from breaking ground to production. According to Zhu, Giga Mexico will be built simultaneously with another gigafactory, although he didn't say where it would be located. It could be a nothingburger, considering that Tesla is also constructing the Semi factory at Giga Nevada at the same time.
On the other hand, it makes sense that Tesla would want to repeat the history it made with Giga Texas and Giga Berlin built roughly in parallel. Elon Musk said at the time that both factories were "money furnaces" and Tesla was in "production hell." However, Tesla overcame the critical moment, and both factories ramped up production as expected. Tesla is now in a much better position than two years ago when it was working on the two gigafactories. Building two new factories would not be an issue, even with the novel production process being implemented.
Tom Zhu offered this information in a private discussion with Matthew Donegan-Ryan, a retail investor present at Investor Day. He also confirmed that the new production flow pioneered at Giga Mexico will be implemented at other gigafactories, including the existing ones. According to Matthew, Tom Zhu offered a puzzling answer when asked whether the affordable EV would be made of stainless steel, like the Cybertruck. "Paint is expensive," said Zhu, so make of this what you will.
?Giga Mexico will be built AT THE SAME TIME AS ANOTHER GIGA! 4/ pic.twitter.com/DnUPNgvOy7
— Matthew Donegan-Ryan (@MatthewDR) March 3, 2023
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