Today, we visited the Tesla Gigafactory in Austin, Texas. This was 1 of the 3 site visits planned for our trip during this spring break and an exciting one as well. While we came prepared with our PPE, the tour only required close toed shoes, sleeved shirts, and safety glasses.

After checking in at the trailer and taking the shuttle to the main entrance of the factory, we were immediately greeted by a large lobby showcasing a couple of unique products. On the very left of the photo, we were introduced to the cyber truck. This truck comes in a couple different variations, but what is unique about the showcased truck is that the Austin Gigafactory actually produced and kept the very first one. Now living in the lobby on display, people can take photos and see the car. The car on the very right is the newest model of the Tesla Model Y. Boasting a full light bar across the front of the car, this model has a few improvements compared to the original. Finally, the middle vehicle is a new concept that is not yet in mass production. Expected to start in the next few months, the robo taxi is a prototype car that will be fully autonomous. The original model features 2 seats in the cabin with no steering wheel or pedals for gas and brakes. Still early in its development stages, we can expect to see these cars on the streets within the next few years.

After looking around the lobby and a short introduction video, we began our tour of the factory side of the building. Unfortunately, due to privacy and corporate regulations, we could not take any photos or videos of the interior. Covering 2500 acres of land with over 10 million square feet of factory, the building is over a full mile long. Additionally, the assembly lines make full use of all 4 stories of the building. Unlike the sleek and clean cut edges of the exterior, the interior is an intricately organized mess of machines, robots, and parts. The full floor space of the building is not currently all in use but there are plans to continue retrofitting new assembly lines.

At the factory right now, they are producing the Model Y as well as the Cybertruck. The full process was estimated at about 70% autonomous with much of the manual labor involving quality checks and movement of materials. For the assembly lines themselves, many portions have been specially designed to be simplified and streamlined, often relying on robots and conveyor systems for both fabrication and installation.

After the tour we were lucky enough to spend some time with Tesla recruiters and UIUC/GLCM alum, Stanley Chiang. There, we got a chance to ask questions as well as learn about some of the technical hurdles of the tool installation team.

Thank you to everyone at Tesla for having us! It was an amazing experience to see some of the world’s leading manufacturing technology in action. Finally, for the car people out there, seeing an original Tesla Roadster fit into a Lotus body in the corner of the lobby was an unexpected treat.

Blog by Max Zhu