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I've got it. They are going to put a phone cradle in the steering wheel, a la "Faraway Future". Then your phone will display the gauges. In case sarcasm goes over any heads.. This is a joke and I hope Tesla is listening.

I am sure I have seen this elsewhere, but simple logic can be applied. Just looking at geometry, you could assume the loss of 4 out of the 16 battery modules. That is if nothing else about cell/module size or density changed. That would give you 12/16 the space for model 3 batteries. Scaling...

I drove by on Friday, 2/5, and they are definitely powerpacks. They were unwrapped and guys were there with a forklift setting them into place. I went by too fast for pictures or counting, but I am guessing at least a few MWhrs.

This is fun to read. My prediction follows. All the car manufacturers will fund 150KW chargers as soon as they build large battery cars. They will all build these large battery cars as soon as the 150KW charger network is built. Standards like CCS are a nightmare. They are the reason Tesla...

The entire structure you see in the latest video is the pilot section. The completed plant will be at least 4-5 times the current footprint. Notice how large the leveled construction pad is with respect to the current structure. My guess is they are concentrating on getting the pilot pack...

Well it is when someone is trying to make a point that SolarCity is an evil company out to sell an inferior product. I do think ~$5/watt is expensive, but I haven't seen someone else offer the 30 year loan and 30 year warranty. In California, for most people, this makes it cheaper per month to...

My understanding is that last year Musk talked to Wyler at length and was in discussions about working on this together. I believe Wyler was working on this while at Google and decided to leave to do it on his own. I thought Musk disagreed with Wyler on the basic architecture. Wyler wanted...

Thanks. You beat me to it. I had just done this before checking back here. Now I just need to look at a model for thermal conductivity of copper wire gages to see if this could just be a liquid cooled heatsink attached to the wire in the pedestal. The copper wire itself could be conducting...

Of course, I believe you are correct. Now you have me thinking about how much power dissipation there is in that roughly 6-8 feet long cable. Sounds like a quick and fun weekend project to design a liquid cooled supercharger cable, at least on paper.

I would assume they are using a non-electrically conductive liquid for cooling, which could potentially provide better protection than the rubber insulation. This could also be a mostly passive system with just thermal conductive heat transfer. Not necessarily a pump/flow based system. Just...

I say Tesla should just make it inconvenient. They could make boths screens red with a big warning saying "CHARGER TAPER DISABLED DUE TO LOCAL CHARGING. STOP CHARGING MANUALLY AT 60% OR YOUR BATTERY WILL SUFFER DEGRADATION." That way they force the person to stay at the car and make it an...

Remember that cell production, at the Gigafactory, does not need to happen for pack production to start. I took this to mean that Powerwall/Powerpack production equipment will be operational in the Gigafactory in Q1 2016. They will use Panasonic sourced cells, from Japan, until Gigafactory...

You are bringing logic to an emotional and illogical discussion. It's like my Mom says, "Stop confusing me with facts!!" Obviously, the world will be swallowed by a raining, snowing black hole as soon as the first "production" falcon wing door opens.

Rampant speculation is that the modules are now the same as the modules in the 85kWhr pack. This would mean a higher voltage than 60kWhr modules and additional efficiency gain from lower losses. I think this is the best explanation I have seen for them being the same cells. That being said, I...

I say there is something interesting going on. Notice that the 70D EPA rating doesn't appear to take much of a hit in wh/mile like the 85 does. From the 60s 209 mile EPA spec, 70D would be 209*70/60=244miles. The 85 would have been 296 miles, with no weight gain penalty. So, for the 85, the...

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...

Very impressive setup. I installed a small off-grid cabin setup, for my father, 2 years ago. Only 2kW solar, 30kWh AGM and 4kW inverter. We have the classic 150 charge controller which has worked very well. It is amazing to me how easy and affordable this is now compared to a decade ago...

Elon is referring to the far future, which he clarified in his tweet. People will see driving a car as a waste of brain power. Imagine just getting in your car and it taking you places. Complaining about not driving will be like complaining that your car needs a louder exhaust.

<sarcasm>You are totally missing the point that Elon will deliver a 6kW solar panel the size of a Model S rear spoiler. That is obviously what he is talking about in the tweet!</sarcasm>

I think the end game will be all about software and services. Imagine automotive control software and infotainment from Apple. A service setup for over-the-air updates of car firmware. Integration with itunes and all other i-services. Apple can handle all the monthly service fees and...

I assume most people know this, but this is a perfect example of CARB (California Air Resources Board) at work. These cars get 9 credits. Toyota must produce and deliver for sale. NOT SELL. Toyota wants these to be a miserable failure. They get to bank ZEV credits worth more than there cost...

Sorry, I had no time to stop tonight. I'm sure AV-NUT will get some soon though.

Just drove past. Stalls are lit up now.

I can confirm the precast transformer pad was in place today, 12/24.

They now have the conduit for all four charger cabinets complete. I bet they also added the eighth charge pedestal conduit as well. Looks like good progress over the last few days.

I would be very surprised if Tesla is not testing modules and possibly full packs with the expected gigafactory battery cell size and chemistry. They have 1 year to beginning cell production. They have 2 years to have high production output of the packs. These packs have to be simpler than...

Supercharger update. Tesla charger crates are on site. All condiut for high voltage cabinets looks complete. Right now they only have 7 pull-in power runs to charger pedestals. Not sure why they don't have an eighth one. They dug up 11 parking spaces, but are only currently using 7. The...

No work this morning. The trenches are done and I would be incredibly surprised if it is anything but a supercharger. Big rectangular hole in the corner of the parking lot connected to a long narrow trench running along the back of about 8 parking spaces. Looks like the connection to...

Stopped by a few minutes ago. Workers are there and digging Saturday morning. Looks like they are digging trenches for the conduit. No Tesla crates yet.

I want to see this be the first 4 or 8 plug per charger station. Have a supercharger plug at every parking space in the lot. This location should always roll out the latest supercharger tech. Also, roll out the TESLA LEDs on the plug stands with red, green and yellow coloring based on...

Does anyone else think that Tesla is doing this to stir up debate to remove these ridiculous laws? It seems like a great way to seed the dissent to me.

Thanks, I didn't realize this was the July 14th flight. Initial trajectory is one thing, I just wonder about the fuel requirements if they end up a few hundred yards off due to wind or slight miscalculation of angle.

Remember that these heavy geosynchronous orbit flights don't retain enough fuel to land. Which means that this thing was running on fumes. Amazing it got as vertical as it did. Also, I believe that they will need the steering vanes, shown on a rocket flight in Texas, to actually place the...

I think the bigger news in the Manteca project list is that they will get another restaurant next to Bass Pro. From what I have learned, poorly written contracts, by the leasing company to lure in the anchors, have stalled new stores even worse than the economic downturn. It has been years and...

I stopped by this past Sunday, 7/6. There are a few utility markings in the parking lot, but other than that no signs of construction. No equipment anywhere in the shopping center, that I could find.

I believe the original estimate was 400 cars/week/shift. Maximum of 1200 cars/week/production line. They are hitting 700/week with 2 shifts, so not quite there yet. I don't believe they are running a third shift yet.

Sorry DITB, I was referring to triadmotion's comment about not competing on price with dealerships. That is a big issue Tesla is contending with in the USA.

Does anyone see the irony of the above post on a Tesla based forum? Maybe it is just me that started chuckling after reading. It would be interesting to see what drives the cost of these. Is it mostly the low volume manufacture? Is there a large premium for the battery packs?

For the new name. Tesla Power Systems. This way we can all talk about the TPS reports. (see movie Office Space) I thought we were supposed to hear about the ground breaking of a site before the end of June. They have one day left. Maybe this falls within the Musk time dilation. Lower post...

From everything I have read and also heard from machinists in the area, Lathrop facility is the new CNC machining facility for Tesla. It will be a production facility for metal components. I am sure it may change if necessary to meet Tesla's expanding goals.

Nothing new that I have seen. Haven't heard of any permit activity either.

I live about a mile from this as well. I notice that spaces that far away from Bass Pro are mostly open, now that Best Buy is gone. That location also seems like they would have to bring power a long way, unless there is an underground conduit that is already there. I would have expected this...

I am a mechanical engineer with lots of CNC knowledge and I also agree. This is just freeing up Tesla Factory to be an assembly plant. They also need to expand and move all of the battery pack production machines to the gigafactory. This allows them to have a large, agile machining facility...

I agree with your math. I was just being conservative based on the fact that there are already more than 10 superchargers, north to south, on both coasts. Any talk of this being impossible, is like dealers discussing how they are good for the consumer.

Let's see, ballpark 1000 miles by 3000 miles. That would be a 10 by 30 grid at 100 mile separation. So 300 superchargers. I would say totally doable and with solar and batteries that probably yields alot of grid peak demand leveling.

I was thinking the new Lathrop manufacturing facility could have a very unique supercharger. Fence off a section of the parking lot, with a gate that can only be accessed by supercharger enabled cars. Build bathrooms and a nice visitors center for people to use while their cars charge. Maybe...

I have been checking local building permit lists and have seen nothing yet. Both the Bass Pro Shops and Costco shopping centers would be ideal locations along highway 120.

I am not an owner, but a huge fan of what Tesla is doing. I live in Manteca and have been watching anxiously for the supercharger. Will definitely update when I find out anything.