6 ms·

Well, construction in China != construction in the US. US has permits, environmental reviews, inspections, labor laws, etc etc that all add time.

op03 6y ago
In Texas all kinds of weird stuff is possible thanks to undocumented labor with ambiguous rights- https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/27/meatpacking-texas-coronavirus-panhandle/ https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/27/meatpacking-texas-co... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-essential-workers.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/opinion/sunday/coronaviru...
toomuchtodo 6y ago
Texas is rolling out the mat for Tesla [1]. They will move faster on permitting and reviews. Tesla seems to be moving quickly with GF4 construction in Berlin [2], even with German labor laws (which is good! you still have to make sure labor regulation is adhered to). Texas is not California. The deadline is not set in stone; it is an aspirational goal to motivate. Lots of oil and gas (O&G) construction/services folks looking for work right now in Texas [3], so it's a good time for Tesla to move in. Also, Texas has an abundance of cheap wind energy they can't export due to ERCOT interconnect capacity issues. The SpaceX McGregor engine development and static fire test facility is only 90 minutes north of Austin, and Tesla already has an Autopilot R&D office there for the engineers they hired from AMD. Good pick for the next factory. Maybe a SpaceX HQ relo is in future plans. [1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-tesla-texas/musk-texas-governor-talk-about-potential-tesla-move-to-lone-star-state-idUSKBN22P06O https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-tesla-... (Musk, Texas governor talk about potential Tesla move to Lone Star state) [2] https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-gigafactory-4-berlin-ground-leveling-completion/ https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-gigafactory-4-berlin-ground-... [3] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/business/energy-environment/coronavirus-oil-prices-collapse.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/business/energy-environme...
- hindsightbias 6y ago
  You’ll need a Cybertruck given the condition IH-35 is in.
  - toomuchtodo 6y ago
    Texas Transportation Commission just approved $3.4 billion in funding last month to reconstruct 35 through Austin, so there's hope. Will still take a Cybertruck though.
    - hindsightbias 6y ago
      If I thinking of moving back, that would kill it for me.
- aguyfromnb 6y ago
  Hey, it's the guy who called Tesla a "good corporate citizen" just a few months ago. Let's add: breaking stay-at-home orders, called the US government "fascist" while praising China, hired people to hack the personal computers of a whistleblower (as reported in a recent deposition filing), extorted the California government, and forced their workers back to the factory floor amid the pandemic to the list of "good" things.
  - toomuchtodo 6y ago
    Still stand by what I said. COVID response by Alameda County was overblown (including extended stay at home orders), California chose not to provide $600k in training funding to SpaceX after Tesla and SpaceX have created tens of thousands of jobs in the state (because they're non-union shops), and Fremont is following rigorous guidelines to mitigate the threat of COVID infections on the factory floor. Your only legitimate complaint is pursuing a whistleblower (that's fair, and uncalled for on Tesla's part). How unreasonable must your jurisdiction be before you're permitted to take your business elsewhere and it isn't slandered as "extortion"? OSHA regulations apply in all 50 states, and both taxes and land costs are legitimately lower in Texas. Is every other company that has moved out of California extortionist?
wastedhours 6y ago
Didn't they also have a factory that was a glorified tent whilst they were finishing one of their previous builds?
- tech-historian 6y ago
  Tesla's tent assembly line is very much alive. That's where they make Model 3's. It's called GA4. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/15/tesla-workers-in-ga4-tent-describe-pressure-to-make-model-3-goals.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/15/tesla-workers-in-ga4-tent-de...
- ctdonath 6y ago
  For comparison: SpaceX builds rockets in tents.
- briffle 6y ago
  Built in about a month... granted, they already had other things like parking lots, rail lines, etc, in place.

op03 6y ago

In Texas all kinds of weird stuff is possible thanks to undocumented labor with ambiguous rights- https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/27/meatpacking-texas-coronavirus-panhandle/ https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/27/meatpacking-texas-co... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-essential-workers.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/opinion/sunday/coronaviru...

toomuchtodo 6y ago

Texas is rolling out the mat for Tesla [1]. They will move faster on permitting and reviews. Tesla seems to be moving quickly with GF4 construction in Berlin [2], even with German labor laws (which is good! you still have to make sure labor regulation is adhered to). Texas is not California. The deadline is not set in stone; it is an aspirational goal to motivate. Lots of oil and gas (O&G) construction/services folks looking for work right now in Texas [3], so it's a good time for Tesla to move in. Also, Texas has an abundance of cheap wind energy they can't export due to ERCOT interconnect capacity issues. The SpaceX McGregor engine development and static fire test facility is only 90 minutes north of Austin, and Tesla already has an Autopilot R&D office there for the engineers they hired from AMD. Good pick for the next factory. Maybe a SpaceX HQ relo is in future plans. [1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-tesla-texas/musk-texas-governor-talk-about-potential-tesla-move-to-lone-star-state-idUSKBN22P06O https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-tesla-... (Musk, Texas governor talk about potential Tesla move to Lone Star state) [2] https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-gigafactory-4-berlin-ground-leveling-completion/ https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-gigafactory-4-berlin-ground-... [3] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/business/energy-environment/coronavirus-oil-prices-collapse.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/business/energy-environme...

hindsightbias 6y ago
You’ll need a Cybertruck given the condition IH-35 is in.
- toomuchtodo 6y ago
  Texas Transportation Commission just approved $3.4 billion in funding last month to reconstruct 35 through Austin, so there's hope. Will still take a Cybertruck though.
  - hindsightbias 6y ago
    If I thinking of moving back, that would kill it for me.
aguyfromnb 6y ago
Hey, it's the guy who called Tesla a "good corporate citizen" just a few months ago. Let's add: breaking stay-at-home orders, called the US government "fascist" while praising China, hired people to hack the personal computers of a whistleblower (as reported in a recent deposition filing), extorted the California government, and forced their workers back to the factory floor amid the pandemic to the list of "good" things.
- toomuchtodo 6y ago
  Still stand by what I said. COVID response by Alameda County was overblown (including extended stay at home orders), California chose not to provide $600k in training funding to SpaceX after Tesla and SpaceX have created tens of thousands of jobs in the state (because they're non-union shops), and Fremont is following rigorous guidelines to mitigate the threat of COVID infections on the factory floor. Your only legitimate complaint is pursuing a whistleblower (that's fair, and uncalled for on Tesla's part). How unreasonable must your jurisdiction be before you're permitted to take your business elsewhere and it isn't slandered as "extortion"? OSHA regulations apply in all 50 states, and both taxes and land costs are legitimately lower in Texas. Is every other company that has moved out of California extortionist?

wastedhours 6y ago

Didn't they also have a factory that was a glorified tent whilst they were finishing one of their previous builds?

tech-historian 6y ago
Tesla's tent assembly line is very much alive. That's where they make Model 3's. It's called GA4. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/15/tesla-workers-in-ga4-tent-describe-pressure-to-make-model-3-goals.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/15/tesla-workers-in-ga4-tent-de...
ctdonath 6y ago
For comparison: SpaceX builds rockets in tents.
briffle 6y ago
Built in about a month... granted, they already had other things like parking lots, rail lines, etc, in place.