Tesla is shutting down parts of the Fremont factory for 'upgrades'
Met God in Wilderness/YouTube
It appears that there is a summer vacation at Tesla's Fremont factory. This move comes a week after CEO Elon Musk's disclosure about the scheduled shutdown of various production facilities during the third quarter for upgrades and refurbishments.
On the second quarter earnings call, Musk hinted at a probable dip in Q3 production numbers, attributing it to summer shutdowns aimed at implementing significant factory upgrades. Although necessary for the company's long-term goals, this temporary hiatus may impact Tesla's delivery figures modestly.
Speculations Run Rampant: Tesla's Motive for Fremont Factory Shutdown
The strategic downtime has led to rampant speculations regarding Tesla's plans for its Fremont plant. Observers suggest the shutdown might pave the way for introducing new production lines, particularly for the upcoming Model 3 refresh, aka Highland. There are also conjectures about possible expansions and reorganizations to optimize the space within the Fremont Factory, which has lately appeared rather congested.
Evidence supporting these assumptions has surfaced through Tesla's filings with the City of Fremont. The documents highlight a range of factory enhancements, including tool installations, line upgrades, and other noteworthy improvements. Moreover, drone footage captured by 'Met God in the Wilderness' (video below) indicates that the factory upgrade activities might have already commenced.
Model 3 Highland Connection: Filings and Factory Shutdown Point to a Link
The visuals depict an almost deserted logistic lot, sealed entrances, and a stark absence of haulers, painting a picture of a dormant production line. The casting and manufacturing segments of the plant also showed minimal activity, adding to the cues of a comprehensive factory shutdown.
Rumors revolving around the much-anticipated Model 3 Highland have gained momentum due to several public sightings of prototypes and related filings. These, coupled with the ongoing factory shutdown, lend credibility to the notion that the revamped sedan might be the central reason behind the factory upgrades. Some of Tesla's filings even mentioned the 'Highland' moniker, further fueling the rumors.
Considering the usually busy nature of the factory, it's plausible that the slowdown is for nothing other than the comprehensive upgrades that Musk alluded to earlier. But it's more fun to imagine Tesla is evolving and gearing up for future endeavors. The Fremont Factory shutdown must be more than a clean-up, and it will likely mark the start of a new chapter, the Highland, and who knows what else.
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Tesla recently showed off Giga Small Haus, an interesting new display project hosted at Giga Berlin. The small new house is located just outside the main entrance of Tesla’s Giga Berlin factory, with a Quicksilver Model Y parked inside.
Giga Small Haus is powered only by solar and Powerwall 3 - disconnected from the local grid and from Giga Berlin itself. It serves as a live demonstration of Tesla Solar and Tesla’s Powerwall battery backup.
Giga Small Haus
The centerpiece of the display is a Model Y in Quicksilver - a beautiful pick for a beautifully lit house. However, that’s not the real focus here - it's the Powerwall and Gateway on the wall.
The Powerwall is the focus of Giga Small Haus, and there’s a display with some additional information on the wall. Part of the display also includes a screen that displays the current output of the Powerwall itself versus the consumption of Giga Small Haus, as well as the input from solar.
The interior exhibit of Giga Small Haus
Not a Tesla App
The text on the exhibit is divided into several sections. Here’s a translated and edited version of what we can see from Tesla’s images. Some additional text is obscured. If someone visits Giga Small Haus, let us know.
Powerwall
Powerwall is a home battery system that stores energy from solar panels, the electrical grid, or during off-peak hours and powers your home during the day or during a power outage.
With Powerwall, you can use self-generated solar energy during the day and night, thus avoiding high electricity costs. You can also store excess energy produced during sunny periods for use during times of low production or power outages.
Key Features
Energy Storage: Powerwall stores excess energy from solar panels or the grid for later use or during power outages.
Backup Power: In the event of a power outage, Powerwall automatically switches to battery power to ensure continuous power supply.
Integration: Powerwall can be seamlessly integrated with existing solar systems and other power sources.
Scalability: Multiple Powerwalls can be installed to meet higher energy storage needs.
Smart Energy Management: Powerwall works with Tesla's software to optimize energy consumption and reduce costs.
How Powerwall Works
Storage: During the day, when solar panels produce more energy than needed, the excess is stored in Powerwall.
Usage: At night or during times of low solar production, the stored energy is used to power the home, reducing reliance on the grid.
Backup: During a power outage, Powerwall automatically provides power to critical circuits, ensuring continuous operation of essential appliances.
Benefits
Cost Savings: By storing and using solar energy, you can reduce your electricity bills.
Reliability: Provides backup power during outages, ensuring your home remains powered.
Sustainability: Promotes the use of renewable energy by storing excess solar production for later use.
Overall, Giga Small Haus is an interesting real-life demo of what Powerwall and Solar can accomplish. It would be neat if Tesla built more of these displays - perhaps near major Delivery and Service Centers and at Giga Texas, Fremont, Giga Shanghai, and other facilities. Many Tesla owners have yet to learn about and experience some of Tesla’s Energy products.
Tesla has added the Acceleration Boost option to the Tesla store for owners of the 2024 Model 3 Long Range - specifically owners in Australia and China. Acceleration Boost is an upgrade that provides a significant performance boost, drastically narrowing the performance gap between the Long Range and Performance versions of the same model.
This upgrade will likely become available in Europe, Canada, and the United States in the next few days as Tesla updates its shops globally.
Acceleration Boost
This new Acceleration Boost is retailing for $3,000 AUD, or approximately $2,000 USD. That’s the same price for current owners of older Model 3 or Model Y Long Range vehicles, which all have the option to purchase Acceleration Boost through the shop.
The boost provides improved 0-100km/h (0-60mph) performance, bumping the 2024 Model 3 LR from 4.4s to 3.8s. The 2024 Performance version comes in at a blazing fast 2.9 seconds, so while it isn’t equivalent to just buying a performance variant in the first place, it is still a noticeable and significant upgrade.
Performance variants also come with a different front fascia vent for cooling, performance drive units, sport seats, adaptive suspension, 20-inch wheels, and Track Mode V3. That’s a significant number of additional features in the $10,000 USD price difference between the Long Range and Performance versions.
Should You Buy It?
If you’ve purchased a Long Range model and are itching to go just that little bit faster at every red light, this is the upgrade for you. It previously came with the cost of slightly reducing vehicle range, but the Tesla store doesn’t make a note of reduced range this time around. The 2023 Model 3 and Model Y Long Range models had an efficiency loss of about 5% due to the additional always-available acceleration and cooling.
You could drive in Chill mode to mostly negate that efficiency loss, but what’s the fun in driving in Chill when you just got Acceleration Boost? Anyhow, the shop listing for the 2024 variant doesn’t include this detail, so it's possible Tesla may have worked some more engineering magic.
Overall, if you’ve got the $3,000 AUD burning a hole in your pocket, some Tesla referral credits sitting around, or just want to go faster, it's definitely an upgrade many users find valuable.
