Gigafactory Texas is perhaps best known for its massive main building, the one with solar panels on the roof spelling out “TESLA.”
To be sure, most of the work done in that building — assembling electric vehicles — is what people think of when they drive by the factory that opened in 2022.
That is not what CEO Elon Musk wants, though.
In that building and others across the campus, 16,500 employees are focused on building EVs, batteries, driver-assistance technology — and new production lines and facilities for other products the CEO says will define the company’s future in artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous vehicles.
Musk says the plant will soon have a line with annual capacity for 10 million humanoid robots known as Optimus. And, as Tesla speeds into the semiconductor business with its massive Terafab project, a new facility now under construction at Gigafactory Texas will conduct chip refining and packaging for the project.
At its grand opening “Cyber Rodeo” event, Musk boasted that with more than 10 million square feet of factory floor, Gigafactory Texas was three times the size of the Pentagon. Over time, he said, it would represent an investment of more than $10 billion, generating at least 20,000 direct jobs and 100,000 more created by suppliers and other related businesses.
But what, exactly, is Tesla doing on the 2,500-acre campus now?
Chief, of course, is making EVs and the batteries that power them. It is one of four Tesla plants building the Model Y, the world’s best-selling car. It also builds Cybertruck and is ramping up production of Cybercab, the company’s purpose-built robotaxi.
Now, as the world’s most valuable automaker shifts its focus, here is a look at some of the critical facilities – both existing and planned – at the sprawling site that also contains its headquarters.
Tesla didn’t respond to requests for interviews or visits to the site, which has a reputation for being so private that a lawyer representing the company recently referred to it as “essentially Fort Knox.”
This overview has been pieced together through information in public records, regular visits near the plant and information from other sources.
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