Gigafactory Texas! This is where Model Y’s, and Cyber Truck production happens and soon, the Next Generation Car!
The total eclipse has now come and gone through this part of Texas, and things are busy at the site today, with some interesting changes and areas of progress to talk about and see in the images and the video!
In the vide introduction, I recap my experiences with the eclipse, give some views of what the setup was like, my visiting family and friends (and dogs), how the skies were cloudy, but offered glimpses of the eclipse with some still images I was able to take, and the pitch-black darkness that descended over my house during totality. I also share an image forma friend of mine from a T-38 flying high over north Texas from where I went to pilot training and likely a T-38 I have flown! Finally, I show the perspective from a SpaceX Starlink satellite of the eclipse from orbit!
Timestamps:
Drone flight overview with discussion & illustration: 0:06 to 2:13
Drone flight footage & infographics: 2:35 to 30:05
For the main video, many interesting sights, but here are just a few to look for:
The boring company tunneling operations were in full swing this morning as I was flying overhead, and we see the tunnel has progressed much farther into the ground, possibly now under the first part of the highway. The belt conveyor system was moving spoils (dirt) out from the Prufrock 3 and into the catch basin, while crews were observed entering the tunnel and the “train” carrying tunnel concrete segments was busy loading up for another trip into the tunnel. Things are progressing now and soon we may get a glimpse of the location where it will exit on the other side of the highway!
On the southeast side of the new south extension, we see a long row of red footing forms with very tall (about 10 meter or 35 feet) rebar “mounts” in a configuration we have never seen before at Giga Texas. Next to this, another long and parallel excavation was underway and GeoPier tops were clearly visible in the bottom of this excavation. This is a mystery structure at this time, as is the function it will have.
The south extension continues to grow, with more steel assembly on the east side around the 4 large tanks and more windows being installed on the south side. In the open middle section, we see a large ground slab section being poured over yellow moisture barrier, but without rebar, so this is not a substantial slab and will not carry heavy loads. This is a surprise development in an area with many architectural and construction surprises.
On the west side, the End-of-Line (EOL) facility was busy, but with some operational changes. These include processing of the Model Y’s including the test track and superchargers on the south end. The north and east sides seem to be reserved for Cybertrucks, and there were many of these here too, some of which were getting pressure washed to remove mud and dirt from the temporary routing point from the factory to this location.
In the west outbound lot, we see the Model Y’s were mostly arranged on the west side for transport, but there was a large grouping on the northeast corner with the new Quicksilver gray Model Y’s. The operation also showed a change in that both Model Y’s and Cybertrucks were being examined near white tents and there was another pressure washing station in this area for Cybertrucks.
The east testing lot was almost empty of Model Y’s, but full to nearly overflowing with Cybertrucks. The Superchargers were also nearly empty of cars. This may signal a operational change to the west EOL facility for all new cars ready for transport, with this lot serving as a holding yard of sorts, at least temporarily, for Cybertrucks waiting final inspections before moving to the west.
Thank you for watching and I hope this has been informative, educational, and entertaining for you. If you would like, please consider supporting me via Patreon (link is in the description of this video and in the video itself) so I can continue to make and share these incredible videos.
Follow me on
Patreon
X @JoeTegtmeyer
Instagram (Joe’s Last Chance Garage) for the latest updates: #joeslastchancegarage
Facebook Joe Tegtmeyer and Joe’s Last Chance Garage
If you are interested in purchasing a Tesla vehicle or solar product, please consider using my referral code!
Be sure to check out additional Texas Gigafactory footage on these channels:
@Jeff Roberts
@Brad Sloan
Video, photos, illustrations, and commentary on this video is by me, Joe Tegtmeyer unless otherwise annotated.
Music in this video is obtained from the YouTube free and unrestricted and royalty-free use library. Ending song is Mr. Sunny Face – Wayne Jones
Drones used are DJI Mini 2, Mavic Air 2 & Air 3.
Drone flight over Giga Texas is with permission of Tesla and CEO Elon Musk
