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Tesla Battery Plant in Fremont California video showing battery production which is very fast indeed


Mark Gregory

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Tesla's Hot Wheels production line: Elon Musk shows off the workshop of giant casting machines that make cells for his electric cars

  • Tesla shared a video of its new tabless battery and Roadrunner production line
  • The battery was first announced in Sept, but was only shown in a render
  • Elon Musk shared the video saying the casting machine will make full-size cars in the same way toy cars are made
  • He also compared the line to those used bu high volume industries
  • This includes food and beverage, medical devices and toys 

640x360_MP4_631156638029952950.mp4

 

 

Tesla has given the first look at its new tabless battery cell, dubbed 4680, and Roadrunner production line

Edited by Mark Gregory (see edit history)
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  • Mark Gregory changed the title to Tesla Battery Plant in Fremont Texas video showing battery production which is very fast indeed

He better make them fast, lots of them need to be replaced soon.

 

I'm sorry, Musk is just a Huckster. Yeah now he's gonna blow mold new cars. Last week it was a rocket for Mars that does somersaults. He has people believing they'll actually be able to buy a ticket to Mars soon. It's only 7 months to get there and 7 months to get back. And impossible to carry an adequate amount of fuel and provisions.

 

 

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  • Mark Gregory changed the title to Tesla Battery Plant in Fremont California video showing battery production which is very fast indeed
35 minutes ago, TerryB said:

On my iPad the video runs as soon as I go to the top of the thread.  Looks a lot like beverage cans being made.

 Maybe they package Lucas smoke in them.

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That video moved from spot to spot in the production process so rapidly that I found the entire presentation to be meaningless.  But then, that could just be slow ol' me.

 

I did, however, appreciate the sound track.

 

Cheers,

Grog

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On 1/19/2021 at 2:11 PM, Roger Walling said:

 Maybe they package Lucas smoke in them.

The prince of darkness? it is said that Lucas headlamp switches have three settings: Dim, Flicker and Off. :)

 

Lucas bought out Powell&Hanmer in Birmingham which was a great company that built very high quality products, but they really only built oil and carbide lamps and were obviously not willing to go electric. My Loco has P&H lamps on it, very well made.

 

-Ron

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On 1/18/2021 at 8:59 PM, Locomobile said:

I'm sorry, Musk is just a Huckster. Yeah now he's gonna blow mold new cars. 

 

 

 

Bingo.

Tesla doesn't make batteries, Panasonic makes batteries for Tesla in Tesla's building in Reno NV.

The giant casting machine shows off Tesla's innovation? Nope. It was developed and built by Italian company IDRA.

This guy sent CPAP machines to hospitals and claimed he sent ventilators. 

 

And on and on.....

Edited by Car-Nicopia (see edit history)
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On 1/18/2021 at 8:59 PM, Locomobile said:

I'm sorry, Musk is just a Huckster. Yeah now he's gonna blow mold new cars. Last week it was a rocket for Mars that does somersaults. He has people believing they'll actually be able to buy a ticket to Mars soon.

 

He probably has his faults, but his company made 500,000 electric cars last year, which is approximately 500,000 more than I made.

Edited by JamesR (see edit history)
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11 hours ago, TexasJohn55 said:

Space X: They, me included, never thought he could butt land his first stage rocket for re-use.

It blew up when it hit the ground in a massive explosion. Although, in the world we live in now that could be considered successful.

 

Not too many years ago, Tesla was dead on the vine and the Feds stepped in and flopped open the checkbook. There is no way to total the amount of money Tesla has received from the US taxpayers, it's many Billions, 5 Billion in one chunk, many more in buyer subsidies, carbon credits etc. Hey, I'm all for someone bringing a new product to market and making a fortune, good for them, it's what makes this country what it is or was. How about doing it fairly like the other thousands of businesses that tried and were successful or failed? The Federal government has absolutely no business GIVING the taxpayers money away to private businesses. 200,000 restaurants have went under since last spring, where was their federal help?

 

If these people want to sport around in their Tesla believing their saving the world, hey great, how about doing it on their dime, not mine. 

 

Ron

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Tesla paid off its government loan 10 years earlier than it was due.  There are stories and misconceptions that are repeated over and over without any fact checking. Is the company perfect, no.  Musk can be overpowering with his opinions and polarizing with his personality.  Didn’t Henry Ford fit that model too?  I’m not going down this path again, it’s been done more than once here.  If someone decides to buy an EV I hope it’s a US based product over a China based NIO.  

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Steve Wozniak Co founder of Apple, true genius and early on cheerleader of Tesla, now says ''Musk is a conman'' and ''don't believe anything Musk says''.

 

The monies Tesla received in Federal grants and carbon credits were never loans and never repaid, Grants are essentially free money, like Solyndra getting 500 million and closing up shop 3 months later.. I'm sure with the recent changes, Musk is dreaming up more wild claims and oiling the hinge on his pocketbook right now.

 

As one auto writer put it: Musk lives like he's in an episode of Star Trek, where all the futuristic gadgets are real, but he always ignores the boring part, how to make them actually work.

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I typically dislike all of the tech weenies,   but you have to give Musk credit.  Regardless of how he did (con or otherwise) he created the most valuable car company in the world from scratch in 15 years.   If asked the question 15 years ago we all would have said that was impossible.    Also,  if you look back at the history of his companies,  he basically risked all his wealth more than once (around 200-300 million he earned from paypal).

 

I elevate Musk over Gates, Zuckerberg, etc who are mostly one trick ponies.   He really has had some innovative ideas and managed to execute on them. 

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I'm no fanboy of the man. Lots of warts on the the man and his products to be found. Kind of like old car guys and their restorations!

His timelines are always optimistic ( so are mine) but the difference between him and most of us is that he eventually delivers .

Like Henry Ford and his assembly line, Musk doesn't always invent the technology but he is either the first to apply it or apply it effectively.That he does without appearing to be anti-Semitic ( like some of the historical icons) is a plus; although admittedly,  that could be tweet away like his misguided COVID opinions.

 

Whether you like the funds your government has provided him for his rockets , he did so under a contract and a clearly defined one which he delivered on without going back for more in each case. Educate yourself on the Commercial Crew program and compare SpaceX to Boeing if you care to. Personally, I find what he is doing in Boca Chica to be absolutely fascinating out of the box stuff, both in manufacturing and engineering. You could argue that there hasn't been an original invention since the lever and the inclined plane if you really want to but he is taking the application of both new and old technology to some pretty interesting places and he is doing it largely without government funding; using both a significant amount of his  own resources and some deep pocketed investors. To call his recent attempt to test his prototype a 'somersault ' shows a lack of understanding of what that test was trying to accomplish and the long term goals of his pet project. At least the man is not afraid to try new things and he does so in a very public way. Probably the most irritating thing about his detractors is that everyone whines about the current lack of ingenuity in American technology and how things have become stagnated . Here comes a guy putting his reputation and cash out there and people just want to tear him down. It certainly is an interesting sociological study. I'm reminded of the great scene from the Aviator when Hughes is testifying before the Senate every time I hear the grumblings.

 

Back to automotive stuff

Musk isn't developing much of the technology he is applying to his vehicles but he is the first to be using it in some pretty unique ways

His large scale casting project was mentioned above. It's not that he's making the casting machine or developing the technology, (why would he try to develop expertise that is already available?), but he is the first to be using it in production to cast large sections of automotive subframes. If he is successful, it will dramatically reduce the cost of his product. Why aren't the other guys doing it? Simply a lack of vision and stagnation if some are to be believed.

Don't believe it ? If you haven't already done so take a look at Munro and Associates who have done critical tear downs of both the Tesla Model 3 and Y. Sandy Munro is an interesting guy with a bio of 30 years in the automotive manufacturing industry.and seems like a pretty straight shooter . Here is a link to the episode where he discusses the 'blow-moulded' Tesla and how he has been suggesting the same thing to other manufacturers since 2017. If you want to skip the battery stuff, the interesting commentary starts at 9:45. I'd recommend his channel if you have some time to kill ignoring the car projects and household chores!

 

 

All that said, I would not currently buy a Tesla because I'm convinced you never really own one. No access to parts, no right to repair. His somewhat revolutionary 'over the air 'updates are a two way street,and Tesla can turn options on and off if you are not compliant or if you sell the vehicle. If you try to rebuild a vehicle and Tesla doesn't like it, you are in trouble!

Being my interests lie in the restoration and repair side of the hobby, what happens when that giant screen goes kerblooey and the part is obsolete? It's one thing to get a new computer when the old one dies, quite another to throw out the car. Even the 'megacasting ' causes me concern. How in the heck does one fix a damaged casting ? My concern is I think the cars Tesla is building are going to become as disposable as a dropped iPhone. I work in the claims side of the auto insurance business and anecdotally, it seems we never fixed a Tesla that had anything more than bumper damage!

Of course the last reason I'd never buy one is that it would break the cardinal rule of spending more on your daily driver than a year's worth of car payments. That way, if it lasts 12 months it owes you nothing.😀

The real money needs to saved for the old stuff!

 

Brad

 

Edited by bradsan (see edit history)
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1 hour ago, bradsan said:

To call his recent attempt to test his prototype a 'somersault ' shows a lack of understanding

I was being complimentary, he actually didn't complete a somersault. 😀

 

1 hour ago, bradsan said:

the most irritating thing about his detractors is that everyone whines about the current lack of ingenuity in American technology and how things have become stagnated

That's inaccurate, we make technological advancements all the time. Just in the last 20 years we've made many in the field of medicine, robotics, communication, power generation, nuclear and manufacturing. I think if one studies what's really happening in science and technology, Musk becomes a lot less impressive and his ideas a bit more ridiculous. Unfortunately, many people only know whats trending in social media.

 

At one time new science discoveries were reported and celebrated because the public was interested and understood their importance, that's all changed. When I was growing up a rocket launch, speed records, records of any type were a big deal. Every kid knew who Chuck Yeager, John Glenn and Neil Armstrong was, Not now. Musk has everyone's ear so it seems like he's the only one doing anything.

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Electric cars...Meh. They’re still all part of eating up this planet. We’ve had a good run. Those alive to actively participate in this forum have had it pretty darn great on this planet. I’m not a big fan of the electric car. I’m not convinced its the answer.
 

Look up Cobalt Mining in Africa. Its needed for battery production. Where does plastic come from? I believe refined oil. Copper wire for all those Tesla drive motors? Mining. Electricity. Where’s it coming from? Nuclear and Hydro seem to be the majority producers. Damming and flooding valleys for more hydro power? Boy that’s a tough one to get approved these days. Anyone up for a nuclear power plant in their region?

 

I don’t know what the answer is. Maybe its too heavy a question to sort out? I think so. Growth. Economy. Profits. Capitalism. Greed. The planet only has so much to give. 
 

I’m guilty. We’re all guilty. For now I plan to just keep my 1938 Detroit iron on the road for as long as I can. Isn’t that plan at least a little bit of a reduction of natural resources? The energy and resources needed to make my car is 83 years old. It still takes me out to buy groceries and visit friends today. Isn’t it better for the environment that I use those resources as long as possible? Good for the economy? Nope. 

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On 1/23/2021 at 5:26 PM, Car-Nicopia said:

 

Bingo.

Tesla doesn't make batteries, Panasonic makes batteries for Tesla in Tesla's building in Reno NV.

The giant casting machine shows off Tesla's innovation? Nope. It was developed and built by Italian company IDRA.

This guy sent CPAP machines to hospitals and claimed he sent ventilators. 

 

And on and on.....

 

Tesla also buys cells from LG, Samsung, and CATL.  But the new prototype 4680 cell line is in the Fremont plant run by a Tesla.  I suspect we'll see high volume production of 4680s at the new Austin factory for the Cybertruck.

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2 hours ago, BucketofBolts said:

With tech getting better each year when will Tesla or some other electric car manufacturer take a risk and make a vehicle that does not look anything like the model that preceded it? An electric Tesla car that looks like a 1934 Packard would be on my list.  

Won’t happen as the number of people who want to buy a new car that looks like a 1934 Packard is not sufficient. Or even likely to show up at all in their market analysis. Cars look pretty much the way they look because that is what the manufacturers think will sell to their target customers. Target customers in niche areas might like a touch of retro styling, but the run of the mill buyer wants pretty much what the majority of cars currently look like.

 

If you have an hour to spare, the video linked to in a post on another thread has some very interesting point. Regarding the original Tesla roadster it was noted that they (a bunch of engineers) sent out requests for body design and got back garbage. Once they had someone that understood visual designer speak re-write the requirements they got good design proposals. There was some other things about the way they identified their target buyers and what they found those people wanted in a car.

 

Another interesting point, they asked around and found that people with gas powered cars start getting range anxiety when there is about 50 miles left in the tank. That drove the decision that their first car had to have a couple hundred mile range.

 

A bunch more little items about Silicon Valley types discovering the ways the auto industry operates. Fascinating to me. Maybe it will be fascinating to you too.

 

Remember this video is old and even when the presentation was made the ground it covered was years old and the fellow presenting was no longer with Tesla.

 

Anyway, if you have the time, take a look at the video in (skip over the boring introductory stuff by the people who hosted the talk): 

 

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On 1/26/2021 at 2:15 PM, BucketofBolts said:

With tech getting better each year when will Tesla or some other electric car manufacturer take a risk and make a vehicle that does not look anything like the model that preceded it? An electric Tesla car that looks like a 1934 Packard would be on my list.  

 

Wouldn't the ideal EV of that era be a Chrysler Airflow?

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