Tesla's new Lathrop, CA facility

[palmer_md]

Is there any evidence that you can see of possible Super Charging station in the parking lot? I ask because it was just reported that Tesla pulled the permit from the City of Manteca. I assume so they can install the SC here.

Thanks

No evidence that this is happening. When they were upgrading the power to the facility, I thought they might be putting in enough for superchargers, but after the electrical installation, it looks like it was only for the added needs of the facility. It was previously just a parts warehouse, so only needs were for lightning. They upgraded the power for the needs of the machinery and additional lighting requirements for the machining operations.

 

[palmer_md]

There is definitely something going on in Lathrop. Lots of construction. Big building expansion in the back of the building. It's interesting that tesla still does not have a sign in front of the building.

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[FredTMC]

Nice post, Palmer. Thx. Hmmmm

 

[hobbes]

Does it make sense that they locate grid storage battery production there? Would coincide with end April announcement.

 

[aronth5]

Does it make sense that they locate grid storage battery production there? Would coincide with end April announcement.

Doubtful, that is why they are building the gigafactory. It certainly shows that Tesla is very busy and good a spending money!

 

[Robert.Boston]

Does it make sense that they locate grid storage battery production there? Would coincide with end April announcement.

Doubtful, that is why they are building the gigafactory. It certainly shows that Tesla is very busy and good a spending money!

The batteries will come from the Gigafactory (eventually), but Tesla needs a location to assemble the final product. But I thought we already knew what Lathrop was for, namely "manufacturing activity to supply components to Fremont." OTOH, we also have J.B. saying that they are building capacity to support stationary storage sales, and Lathrop is the obvious choice there.

 

[jjkroll]

I read a rumor somewhere that they were going to install aluminum casting capability in Lathrop. My guess is that this facility will make motors for 500000 cars a year. Also, lots of other cast aluminum and machined parts. They might make the housing for battery packs, but I would bet against any cell integration at Lathrop facility in the long term. My guess is that will go straight from Fremont to gigafactory.

 

[palmer_md]

That might make sense. The center section of the construction looks like it's setup for a large overhead crane like I've seen in that type of manufacturing and if you watch the video about halfway down the side of the building where they have parts lining along the fence in the foreground you'll see some huge insulators for electrical power. The kind of power you might need for casting. It'll be interesting to see what this is being built for in any case.

 

[hobbes]

Isn´t there still space left in Fremont? Think it would make sense to keep things closely together. Or maybe they are planning further ahead than I anticipate and with Model X+3 assembly lines in Fremont all the space is taken up...

 

[Krugerrand]

Think it would make sense to keep things closely together.

Lathrop is not far from Fremont.

 

[Yggdrasill]

The interesting thing to note is that the new building is much higher than the existing building. That suggests to me two possibilities:

- They needed a fairly big crane for moving heavy bulky stuff around.
- They needed space for massive equipment.

I think my money is on the former possibility. The building could be quite suited for assembling and shipping container-sized components. The I-beams that go the entire length of the building with fairly substantial support beams seem quite suited to fit a 20-ish ton traverse crane. With gates at one end, trucks could be able to pull in, have containers loaded up and off they go.

 

[aronth5]

The batteries will come from the Gigafactory (eventually), but Tesla needs a location to assemble the final product. But I thought we already knew what Lathrop was for, namely "manufacturing activity to supply components to Fremont." OTOH, we also have J.B. saying that they are building capacity to support stationary storage sales, and Lathrop is the obvious choice there.

Why wouldn't the final battery product be assembled at the gigafactory and shipped straight to the factory? Batteries are heavy enough without having to ship them twice along with the added cost.
I thought I read somewhere that having everything done at the gigafactory would be one factor in bringing the cost down by at least 30%.

 

[jhm]

Where are they making machines to run in the Gigafactory? I feel like I read somewhere that many machines will be very specialized, which raises the question of who will build them.

 

[Robert.Boston]

Why wouldn't the final battery product be assembled at the gigafactory and shipped straight to the factory? Batteries are heavy enough without having to ship them twice along with the added cost.
I thought I read somewhere that having everything done at the gigafactory would be one factor in bringing the cost down by at least 30%.

Tesla ships completed car batteries from the GF to Fremont, where they are installed in the vehicles.
Tesla ships completed stationary storage batteries from the GF to Lathrop, where they are installed in the enclosures.

There's quite a lot of kit that needs to accompany a battery to make a stationary storage device: power electronics, communications, cables, cabinet, etc. Still, based on what we've learned, I'm leaning towards Lathrop as a component feed to Fremont with some as-yet undisclosed location for the storage HQ.

 

[c041v]

The interesting thing to note is that the new building is much higher than the existing building. That suggests to me two possibilities:

- They needed a fairly big crane for moving heavy bulky stuff around.
- They needed space for massive equipment.

I think my money is on the former possibility. The building could be quite suited for assembling and shipping container-sized components. The I-beams that go the entire length of the building with fairly substantial support beams seem quite suited to fit a 20-ish ton traverse crane. With gates at one end, trucks could be able to pull in, have containers loaded up and off they go.

I would think the overhead crane would be used to swap out parts for some of the production machines like dies or presses, not necessarily large components.

 

[rickgt]

Lathrop, CA is on the way between Reno and Fremont...

 

[Larry Chanin]

Bringing die manufacturer in-house makes a lot of sense, as would making more of the value-added castings. The more content they can localize, the more Tesla gains control over margins and production rates. Remember when the Model S was being held up because of slow deliveries of dies?

I agree. Dies are a major critical path item and Tesla has been forced to rely on overseas manufacturers to supply. When the Model X and particularly the Model 3 come on-line it will be too much of a risk to rely on foreign suppliers for this key item.

Here's an old Autoweek article on the subject: Can Tesla become a bigger company with Model S electric car? That's Elon Musk's gamble

Toyota sold seven press lines to Tesla as part of the transaction, but the stamping dies are still being made by Fuji Industries in Japan and Taiwan. Tesla eventually wants to have dies made in-house from castings to save money on logistics.

Larry

 

[aronth5]

Tesla ships completed car batteries from the GF to Fremont, where they are installed in the vehicles.
Tesla ships completed stationary storage batteries from the GF to Lathrop, where they are installed in the enclosures.

There's quite a lot of kit that needs to accompany a battery to make a stationary storage device: power electronics, communications, cables, cabinet, etc. Still, based on what we've learned, I'm leaning towards Lathrop as a component feed to Fremont with some as-yet undisclosed location for the storage HQ.

Thanks for clarifying.
If Tesla intends to prepare the battery pack for the cars in the gigafactory why not the stationary business too? You could certainly be correct but has there been any information from Tesla or Solar City to confirm that the stationary storage "kit" will be done either partially or fully at a separate location?

 

[palmer_md]

I drove past again this evening and took another photo. They seem to have added another 1/3 to the building. It looks like that might be the full size of the building. I also added a close up photo of some of the power equipment that I just passed in the first video.

 

[Cattledog]

I drove past again this evening and took another photo. They seem to have added another 1/3 to the building. It looks like that might be the full size of the building. I also added a close up photo of some of the power equipment that I just passed in the first video.

Definite crane rail setup in two bays.