Tuesday, Feb 26th.  We leave Berkeley for Fremont to visit the Tesla Motors factory.   This is a day I have long been waiting for.  We first drop our Model S off at the factory service center to take care of a few small issues and we are driven over to the factory side by Kyle, our service representative.   We register at the entrance and we are given a private tour of the manufacturing facility by Tim McCann.  The tour is simply fascinating.  We are driven around the inside of the factory on a tram and travel through all aspects of the production line, except for the area where the battery packs and motors are assembled.  The level of automation is impressive and some of the presses are among the largest in the country.  Tim is very knowledgeable and provides us with a superb explanation of many of the processes.  There is a National Geographic documentary on the factory, and I will have to look it up to watch when I return home.  All of the Tesla staff is very friendly and courteous.   We pass by Elon Musk’s desk, but he’s in another part of the factory.  His spot is in a section next two several dozen other desks where the top factory managers sit.  It’s an open office setup, smack in the middle of the production floor.  Tim mentions Elon, prefers the factory office over the HQ office over in Palo Alto, because he prefers to be hands on at the factory.

It’s our impression, all of the employees are very excited to be a part of this company.  Everyone is simply beaming with energy and excitement about the company.   I’ve been exposed to dozens of Tesla employees at show rooms, service centers, customer service over the phone and now the factory and every employee I’ve met or spoken to has a positive attitude.

Finishing the tour have lunch out front at some lunch trucks and mingle with other Tesla office employees who work with design, purchasing and inventory sourcing.  Afterwards, we come back to the service center to await our car and talk more with the service manager.  One of the parts technicians comes out to the waiting room and we  inquire about cable adapters, which have just arrived to their inventory.  One is a NEMA 10-30 and a NEMA 14-30.   We might possibly encounter one of these in the course of our cross country trek, so I’m happy to purchase these and keep them handy in the trunk.    Our car is returned to us.  They have replaced a sticky left rear door handle, repaired a TPMS warning error which kept cropping up, replaced a faulty interior convenience light and tested our supercharger connection (at our request).   We didn’t receive the parcel shelf for the cargo area when we picked the car up in Portland and here at the factory the item is still not yet available.  Surprisingly, this was the only item missing from the car.  They plan to UPS it to my office in a few weeks.

Tesla factory in Freemont, CA, visitor center entrance.

Juan in from of the Tesla factory in Freemont, CA, visitor center entrance.

Inside the factory, Welcome to Tesa Motors.

Inside the factory, Welcome to Tesa Motors.

The factory service center entrance is right where next to the storage lot where new Tesla Model S cars are waiting to ship out. Nearly every color available is visible in this lot.

The factory service center entrance is right where next to the storage lot where new Tesla Model S cars are waiting to ship out. Nearly every color available is visible in this lot.

Another view of the Model S storage lot at the Tesla factory.

Another view of the Model S storage lot at the Tesla factory.

Left side of the factory service center as viewed from the customer service area. Service technicians are training here.

Left side of the factory service center as viewed from the customer service area. Service technicians are training here.

Right side of the service bay at the Tesla factory. This is the largest service center for Tesla (probably the best too since they have the biggest inventory of parts). I think that's our car, third one down.

Right side of the service bay at the Tesla factory. This is the largest service center for Tesla (probably the best too since they have the biggest inventory of parts). I think that’s our car, third one down.

Model S Exterior color choices

Model S Exterior color choices, Mult-coat White, Black, White,  Metallic Silver, Metallic Blue, Metallic Green, Metallic Grey, Metallic Brown, Red & Multi-Coat Red (my favorite).

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the factory. This pic is off the web, it's a series of very large presses which make body parts for the Model S. The body is made entirely of aluminum, which is quite rare. Most car bodies are made from steel. The aluminum arrives to the factory in giant rolls which we many tons.

We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the factory. This pic is off the web, it’s a series of very large presses which make body parts for the Model S. The body is made entirely of aluminum, which is quite rare. Most car bodies are made from steel. The aluminum arrives to the factory in giant rolls which we many tons.

This is the main robotic assembly- very high tech. We witnessed from this very spot everything in motion and the assembly of actual Model S vehicles. Each station is enclosed with plastic wall partitions to keep the workers from accidentally straying into contact with the robots while they are in motion.

This is the main robotic assembly- very high tech. We witnessed from this very spot everything in motion and the assembly of actual Model S vehicles.  Each station is enclosed with plastic wall partitions to keep the workers from accidentally straying into contact with the robots while they are in motion.

We passed by this station as well. Each vehicle rides a chassis chariot after it comes out of the main line.

We passed by this station as well. Each vehicle rides a chassis chariot after it comes out of the main line.

The first production Model S, (Signature Series) to come off the Tesla Motors produciton line in June 2012.

 

 

 

The first production Model S, (Signature Series) to come off the Tesla Motors produciton line in June 2012.

 

 

 

These pictures simply don’t do justice to the amazing tour we had at the facility.  Check out this 45 minute fascinating video from a National Geographic Special on mega factories, featuring Tesla Motors.