Elon Musk speaks on the “Cyber Rodeo,” a grand opening occasion for Tesla’s new manufacturing unit in Austin, Texas.
On Thursday night time, Tesla CEO Elon Musk spoke at a grand opening occasion for the electrical car maker’s new $1.1 billion manufacturing unit close to the Austin airport in Texas.
On the occasion, he spoke about how huge the brand new manufacturing unit is, and teased merchandise which are nonetheless in improvement, together with the Cybertruck, and a robotaxi that he promised would look fairly futuristic.
“It wasn’t simple constructing this humongous constructing and getting all this tools right here,” Musk mentioned, sporting a big black cowboy hat and thanking Tesla’s neighbors in Travis County, in addition to Tesla staff who helped construct the plant.
“When you put the constructing on its facet, it is taller than the Burj Khalifa,” Musk mentioned, a reference to the world’s tallest skyscraper in Dubai. He joked that in accordance with Tesla’s calculations, 194 billion hamsters may match within the constructing.
Tesla goals to make 500,000 models of the Mannequin Y in a single yr in Austin, the CEO revealed Thursday night time. The corporate can be hoping to start out manufacturing of its Cybertruck in Texas subsequent yr, Musk confirmed.
Nevertheless, Tesla’s timelines usually shift. Tesla, and different automakers, are grappling with chip shortages and hovering costs for uncooked supplies exacerbated by Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
“In trailing twelve months, we have delivered over 1,000,000 vehicles worldwide,” Musk mentioned. “There’s nonetheless an extended solution to go.”
Tesla automobiles comprise greater than 75% of all absolutely electrical vehicles offered within the US as we speak, in accordance with analysis by AutoForecast Options, with absolutely electrical automobiles comprising about 4% of all new car gross sales domestically.
Musk additionally introduced plans to increase its experimental driver help program to a wider consumer base.
“We’re aiming to go to broad beta for nearly all Full Self-Driving prospects in North America this yr,” Musk mentioned. The corporate doesn’t make autonomous vehicles, however sells a premium driver help package deal it calls Full Self-Driving. Homeowners who’ve the premium possibility can check out new, unfinished options on public roads by Tesla’s FSD Beta program. Presently this system is restricted to a collection of Tesla prospects and staff.
Tesla celebrated its new car and battery manufacturing unit in Austin, Texas with a “Cyber Rodeo” occasion on April 7, 2022.
Tesla constructed its Austin car meeting plant in about two years from the bottom up. Its first US automobile plant in Fremont, California, had been collectively owned by GM and Toyota earlier than Tesla tailored it to construct its Mannequin S sedan and Mannequin X SUVs, its first mass-manufactured automobiles, and later its extra reasonably priced Mannequin 3 and Mannequin Y.
The Fremont manufacturing unit continues to be working as we speak, however Tesla goals to extend manufacturing of its Mannequin Y electrical automobiles and batteries in Austin, and to provide its uncommon trapezoidal pickup, the Cybertruck, in Texas for purchasers in North America.
Sam Fioriani, vp of world car forecasting at AutoForecast Options, instructed CNBC the brand new plant is sorely wanted.
“With new merchandise on the best way, they want extra plant house,” he mentioned. He believes Tesla’s Austin manufacturing unit, because it was freshly designed to fabricate Tesla merchandise solely, ought to assist the corporate enhance the standard of their vehicles, and cut back their manufacturing prices.
“They’ve constructed a few couple million automobiles thus far, which suggests they need to have found out what works and what does not at this level. They need to have the ability to improve the positives,” Fiorani mentioned.
Musk mentioned on Thursday night time that the Mannequin Y automobiles being produced in Texas characteristic what’s generally known as a “structural pack,” that means the cells within the vehicles’ excessive voltage battery packs carry the load of the car.
Earlier than the Texas occasion, Tesla had hosted a grand opening and began some business manufacturing at one other new plant in Brandenburg, Germany.
The corporate’s Shanghai manufacturing unit, which started car manufacturing in late 2019, has been closed for days on finish on account of covid well being restrictions within the area.
Earlier this week, Elon Musk despatched the share worth of Twitter hovering after monetary filings and Twitter revealed that he had taken an approximately 9% activist stake within the social media firm and would take a board seat there.
Musk has constructed Tesla’s model on social media, particularly Twitter, and non-traditional advertising occasions just like the “Cyber Rodeo.” Nevertheless, he didn’t talk about his plans for Twitter on the firm’s get together on Thursday.
