Tesla’s VP of manufacturing Gilbert Passin pretty much summed up Tesla’s newly acquired automotive manufacturing plant in Fremont, Calif. on a rare tour on Wednesday, when he said: “This factory is huge.” At 5.2 million square feet, the NUMMI plant — previously the production site for Toyota’s joint venture with General Motors — is a massive factory space, filled with the remains of huge car stamping presses, cranes, pits, and left-over assembly line equipment.
Tesla bought the plant for a shockingly low $42 million (in comparison Passin pointed out single pieces of equipment in the plant that cost tens of millions throughout the tour), and will only use some 20 percent of the space to build the Model S. The other 80 percent will get “mothballed,” according to Passin, until Tesla decides to launch more cars in the future beyond the Model S.
Tesla is in the process of inspecting, itemizing and acquiring various pieces of equipment throughout the factory, and many of the photos I took on the tour have signs placed on them marking them as a “Purchased Asset.” The beginning of the media event was also marked with an unveiling of a large Tesla sign on the side of the NUMMI plant, and a speech and Q&A session with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Senator Diane Feinstein.
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1 / 20Tesla CEO, Sen. Feinstein at NUMMI OpeningElon Musk and Diane Feinstein took questions at the plant opening -
2 / 20The Tesla Sign UnveilingTesla kept its new sign covered during the CEOs speech. -
3 / 20Tesla Unveils the SignAfter Musks speech Tesla removed the sign covers. -
4 / 20The sign unveiledAnd there it is. -
5 / 20The new sign -
6 / 20The South DockFor auto manufacturing everything is massive. -
7 / 20The South DockWhere the materials arrive for assembly -
8 / 20Passin at the South DockPassin showed us where the materials would line up at the South Dock. -
9 / 20Passin in front of Model S in the NUMMI plantPassin showed us the lay out in front of the Model S. -
10 / 20NUMMI Plant EquipmentAssembly line equipment that Tesla acquired from the NUMMI plant. -
11 / 20Inside the NUMMI factoryMuch of the space in the NUMMI factory is empty. -
12 / 20An example of robot equipmentTesla staged robot equipment that it would use when it started manufacturing. -
13 / 20"Purchased Asset"Equipment acquired by Tesla from the NUMMI plant. -
14 / 20Pits and assembly linesPassin shows off where the assembly lines would go -
15 / 20A Big Ol Crane -
16 / 20The Stamping ShopOne of the most impressive areas was the stamping shop where the body panels will be pressed. -
17 / 20The Stamping Shop -
18 / 20The body panel pressTesla bought body panel presses, and will have to adapt them for the Model S. -
19 / 20Purchased Assets -
20 / 20Massive beams.
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