The Tesla Factory is situated on 370 acres of land in Fremont, California.
The Tesla Factory spent the first 20 years of its life as a General Motors assembly plant until it was shut down in 1982. In 1984, the plant reopened as NUMMI or New United Motor Manufacturing Inc.
NUMMI was a joint venture between GM And Toyota that assembled vehicles for both automakers. It also allowed GM to study Toyota's legendary "lean manufacturing" methods.
The NUMMI joint venture ended 2009 which allowed Tesla to swoop in and purchase the plant in 2010.
Believe it or not, this is the last remaining major car factory in the state of California.
As we pull up to the Tesla Factory, we are greeted by a row of the company's Model S electric sedans having their batteries topped off at SuperCharger stations.
Nearby, brand new Model S cars sit outside the Customer Delivery center.
Eventually, we make our way inside the massive production facility. It occupies 5.3 million sq. ft. of manufacturing space.
How do people get around the massive factory floor? Bicycles!
Just inside the factory entrance is a row of Tesla's prototypes.
They range from this wood composite mockup of the Tesla Roadster used for wind tunnel testing to...
... the first mockups of the Model S.
Here's "Red Alpha." It was the first drivable Model S prototype. Tesla say they spent roughly $2.2 million on the prototype.
Ever wonder what a Tesla Model S looks like without its body? Well here it is.
Entering the production portion of the factory, the immediate impression any visitor gets is that everything is very clean and neatly organized.
As the tour continued we made our way to Tesla's massive Schuler press. It's seven stories tall and is responsible for stamping out Tesla's aluminum body panels.
Tesla claims the press is the largest machine of its kind in North America.
There are racks upon racks of panels awaiting assembly.
The Tesla Factory is comprised of two main production lines. Currently, Line One is dedicated to the Model S, while Line Two is responsible for the Model X.
This Model S is beginning to take shape.
While this one just went through a quality control inspection of its welds.
These cars are fresh out of the paint shop.
These robots are putting together Tesla's electric powertrain.
A sea of electric motors.
These are the smaller of the two motors Tesla offers.
This one is headed for a Model X.
I spy a Model S under wraps.
Here, a robot called Mystique is picking up a Model S. The factory's large robots are named after characters from Marvel's X-Men.
Two of the coolest robots in the factory work in tandem with each other. They are called Wolverine and Iceman.
Here's how they work. As this Model S approaches the robots...
It lifts the car up and rotates it 180 degrees.
At which point Iceman activates and receives the car from Wolverine.
Iceman then turns the car another 180 degrees — allowing it to continue down the production line.
In all, the Tesla production line deploys more than 150 robots.
However, not all of the of the Tesla is made by robots. The plant actually employs a few thousand people.
Many parts of the car, such as the interior trim, must be installed by hand.
This Model S is awaiting its interior.
And Voila! A complete Model S.
However, the work is not done for the factory. The completed cars have to be sent to the dynamometer to gauge power output and then be prepped for delivery.
In all, Tesla produces roughly 1,000 Model S sedans a week with Model X production ramping up in the near future.
