Updated 4K drone footage shows the progress of Tesla's $5 billion Gigafactory

[midian182]

Just three days after it was announced last week, the number of reservations for the Tesla Model 3 reached almost 300,000. This demand is expected to remain high, meaning the company is going to have a produce a lot of batteries for its upcoming electric car. But Tesla should be prepared for the massive jump in vehicle output, thanks to the Gigafactory.

Recently shot 4K drone footage (below) gives you an idea of what the 5.5 million-square-foot facility will look like when it’s complete. Located outside the appropriately named Sparks, Nevada, Tesla says the Gigafactory will “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable transportation."

Tesla may have delivered a record 50,000 cars last year, but the company expects that figure to hit 500,000 by 2020, making the factory, which is second in volume only to Boeing's Washington factory, a necessity.

Elon Musk’s company will make the batteries at the $5 billion plant using “economies of scale, innovative manufacturing, reduction of waste, and the simple optimization of locating most manufacturing process under one roof.” It’s expected to begin cell production in 2017 – coinciding with the release of the Model 3 – and will reach full capacity by 2020.

“In order to produce half a million cars a year, we basically need to absorb the entire world's lithium production. That's the entire reason we're building the Gigafactory. It will produce more lithium-ion batteries than all other factories in the world combined [...] We will also be producing the most advanced cell in the world,” said Musk.

Tesla wants the Gigafactory to be powered by renewable energy. They haven’t been installed yet, but solar panels will be placed on the building’s roof, which is painted white to optimize their efficiency.

In addition to producing batteries for its electric vehicles, the facility will also help manufacture Tesla's Powerwall home battery.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/64319-updated-4k-drone-footage-shows-progress-tesla-5.html

 

[tonylukac]

When will tesla embrace nikola tesla's system? Just need cell tower globes to beam the electricity; those mechanisms are in place to build them, instead of using the finite amount of lithium in the world. Heard when they activated the tesla system in new jersey in the 1930s, there were lots of brush fires, but they'd perfect it. Mobile phones, tablets, and laptops could get power from that too, instead of charging or needing any kind of cord. Just think if you never had to charge your phone.

 

[mosu]

Dream on... and while dreaming imagine a system billing for that energy.

 

[yRaz]

Dream on... and while dreaming imagine a system billing for that energy.

it really wouldn't be any different than our current billing systems. You pay X amount of money for y amount of Kwh

 

[p51d007]

When will tesla embrace nikola tesla's system? Just need cell tower globes to beam the electricity; those mechanisms are in place to build them, instead of using the finite amount of lithium in the world. Heard when they activated the tesla system in new jersey in the 1930s, there were lots of brush fires, but they'd perfect it. Mobile phones, tablets, and laptops could get power from that too, instead of charging or needing any kind of cord. Just think if you never had to charge your phone.

Guess you don't like:
Listening to over the air radio
Are an amateur radio operator
Don't care if your cell phone doesn't work at times
Don't care if your wi-fi cuts out/stops

There is this thing called RF interference (RF). Back when Tesla tried wireless transmission of
electricity, AM radio was present, but pretty much THAT was it. A few years back, a few utility
companies tried to send broadband internet, through the AC lines, but the ARRL (amateur radio
relay league) spoke out against it because of the potential for RF problems. I hear a lot of people
that say "but, ham radio is outdated, replaced by cell phones, internet etc".
Yeah, and the first major weather, terrorist, crisis, when the mains go down, your cell coverage
stops when the backup batteries run down, and the internet will be DOA also. That's when a vast
network of amateur radio operators bring out their generators, set up their portable antennas and
radios, and help relay vital messages back and forth. One reason morse code is still around is even
with a bad signal that won't support a voice communication, morse can still get through.

73's
KB0GNK

 

[oldikes]

When will tesla embrace nikola tesla's system? Just need cell tower globes to beam the electricity; those mechanisms are in place to build them, instead of using the finite amount of lithium in the world. Heard when they activated the tesla system in new jersey in the 1930s, there were lots of brush fires, but they'd perfect it. Mobile phones, tablets, and laptops could get power from that too, instead of charging or needing any kind of cord. Just think if you never had to charge your phone.

transmitting enough electricity on that large a scale to significantly power any device probably isnt very healthy for life in the general vicinity. You start approaching the healthy limit for human microwave exposure, and smaller life is probably affected before that.

 

[Adhmuz]

I hear a lot of people
that say "but, ham radio is outdated, replaced by cell phones, internet etc".
Yeah, and the first major weather, terrorist, crisis, when the mains go down, your cell coverage
stops when the backup batteries run down, and the internet will be DOA also. That's when a vast
network of amateur radio operators bring out their generators, set up their portable antennas and
radios, and help relay vital messages back and forth.

Just because this happens in the movies doesn't mean it'll happen in real life... If the world economy was to crash and the lights went out permanently, do you really think a bunch of hobbyist with their 50 year old ham radios are going to save the day? Get real. Your bigger concern should be looters, vandals and any one else looking to survive basically, fine you could probably knock out one or two people with your equipment by throwing it at them but if they have guns, good luck with that.

 

[MannerMauler]

I hear a lot of people
that say "but, ham radio is outdated, replaced by cell phones, internet etc".
Yeah, and the first major weather, terrorist, crisis, when the mains go down, your cell coverage
stops when the backup batteries run down, and the internet will be DOA also. That's when a vast
network of amateur radio operators bring out their generators, set up their portable antennas and
radios, and help relay vital messages back and forth.

Just because this happens in the movies doesn't mean it'll happen in real life... If the world economy was to crash and the lights went out permanently, do you really think a bunch of hobbyist with their 50 year old ham radios are going to save the day? Get real. Your bigger concern should be looters, vandals and any one else looking to survive basically, fine you could probably knock out one or two people with your equipment by throwing it at them but if they have guns, good luck with that.

You're possibly not aware of the massive market for this kind of stuff, transceivers start around 100$ and just get pricier, from there. I've only had a small taste of Ham Radio, but enough to know how useful it is. For example, you can use these radios to locate transmitters or jammers that are causing trouble. Amateur Ham Radio Operators do "Fox" hunts where they have to triangulate the location of a small transmitter that sends out a morse code message at certain intervals. Ham Radio isn't as big as it was in the 60-70 anymore but it still rather large and you can end up contacting people on the other side of the world. Although in the US I bet you're more likely to find Amateur Ham ops in the south.

 

[MasterMace]

Followed a link to this old article. Tesla still think they can get 500,000 cars produced next year?