100% American Made...

[Captain Ducman]

My kids asked me what I would like for Christmas for my new car, I told them a tag frame that said "100% Electric" and "100% American Made"

My wife piped up and asked how accurate that would be. She knows the shifter and window controls are MB. But we aren't sure what other items are outsourced to other countries.

Does anyone know or have a WAG of what percentage of the Model S is truly made here in the USA? Another sidebar question, is the TESLA assembly line union labor? Or is it along the lines of 'Management and Labor work together rather than adversaries'? (I come from both a Management and a Union Labor upbringing :crying

I guess simply "Made in the USA" would suffice, but her comment got my wheels turning.

 

[techmaven]

Officially 55% domestic content, domestic defined as USA and Canada. Can't remember if that is by price or by weight.

The battery cells are made in Japan by Panasonic, so that is a big component by both weight and price. Aluminum is supplied by Alcoa and is presumably domestic.

 

[Captain Ducman]

Thank You,

Maybe I should stick with "Made In America" LOL

 

[pgiralt]

The 55% number is what I recall reading somewhere as well. I think this is the reason the taxes for importing into Canada are so high - because apparently NAFTA requires at least 60% to be exempt from taxes - or something like that.

As for whether it's Union Labor or not - highly unlikely that it is Union labor.

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

.../ As for whether it's Union Labor or not - highly unlikely that it is Union labor.

I remember watching a longer interview with Elon on what I think was Fox Business. The 45-year-old or so woman reporter asked the question. Paraphrasing Elon's response: He/Tesla are neutral on this issue. At that time though (don't remember when), the workers were not unionized. But I guess that means that if the workers want to form a union, then they are free to do so.

 

[caddieo]

Thank You,

Maybe I should stick with "Made In America" LOL

I used "Made in the USA". See my post #42 in the Florida sub forum on Florida Vanity Plates.

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

…/ Another sidebar question, is the TESLA assembly line union labor? Or is it along the lines of 'Management and Labor work together rather than adversaries'? /…

I don’t see why a union have to mean that management and labor have to be adversaries. Both want jobs. And to keep their current ones, they’ll have to work together. I also think that in Tesla’s case all involved feel a commitment to the greater cause.

And don’t all the employees own stock in the company?

 

[Zzzz...]

Officially 55% domestic content

But this is only counting origin of parts, and not counting value added by Tesla Factory. So real US content if you evaluate whole fully stamped/painted/assembled product would be more like 70%.

 

[liuping]

The 55% number is what I recall reading somewhere as well. I think this is the reason the taxes for importing into Canada are so high - because apparently NAFTA requires at least 60% to be exempt from taxes - or something like that.

As for whether it's Union Labor or not - highly unlikely that it is Union labor.

I saw the 55% on the traditional "window sticker" (that is not stuck on the window in our case) last week when I picked up my car.

 

[mknox]

Apparently, not enough of the car is made in North America to qualify under the Free Trade Agreement and Canadians like me got dinged with import duty. I understand it is the Japanese battery cells that pushes it over the limit.

 

[Captain Ducman]

I used "Made in the USA". See my post #42 in the Florida sub forum on Florida Vanity Plates.

Caddieo, I like that, where did you get it?

 

[Discoducky]

The % will change drastically with a Giga battery factory in North America

 

[jcaspar]

I have to say that one of the main reasons I purchased a Tesla was that it was American made by an American company. I think the second part is most important as simply assembling the car in the US as many foreign companies do does nothing to help the trade deficit and sends all the profits out of the country. I am still shocked by the 55% US content after the factory tour. Would have expected more like 90%. Would love to see how the calculation is done. For comparison, my Viper was 93% US content.

 

[widodh]

There is more to Tesla then the US As a European I don't care where the car comes from. I buy a Tesla because it's a Tesla, not because it's a American made car.

In the modern globalized world complex things like cars aren't manufactured in one country.

Think about the LCD displays and the processors in the Model S, those aren't made in the US, probably Taiwan or China. Same goes for a lot of components.

The brakes are Brembo and those are from Italy. We can continue to compile a list, but you'll find out that the 55% is a pretty realistic number.

 

[Doug_G]

But this is only counting origin of parts, and not counting value added by Tesla Factory. So real US content if you evaluate whole fully stamped/painted/assembled product would be more like 70%.

This is correct. The rules require 60% of manufacturing inputs to be made in the NAFTA region. The Model S falls a few percent short on that. But assembling the car clearly adds significant value. I wouldn't hesitate to call it "Made in America".

 

[evme]

I have to say that one of the main reasons I purchased a Tesla was that it was American made by an American company. I think the second part is most important as simply assembling the car in the US as many foreign companies do does nothing to help the trade deficit and sends all the profits out of the country. I am still shocked by the 55% US content after the factory tour. Would have expected more like 90%. Would love to see how the calculation is done. For comparison, my Viper was 93% US content.

The problem comes down to the battery. It makes up a huge % of the content and the cells are made in japan. I am willing to bet the battery itself is like 30-40%.

 

[digitaltim]

I keep thinking about getting "Designed & Assembled in California."

 

[jerry33]

I keep thinking about getting "Designed & Assembled in California."

Given that they take in rolls of aluminium and turn them into Teslas, that's hardly "assembled". You could say the battery is designed and assembled in California, but even that's a stretch as they manufacture the everything but the cells.

 

[digitaltim]

Given that they take in rolls of aluminium and turn them into Teslas, that's hardly "assembled". You could say the battery is designed and assembled in California, but even that's a stretch as they manufacture the everything but the cells.

I am still going with assembled...it's a play on the Apple tag lines...and given the ~55% domestic/nafta parts, I think it fits.

 

[Mahedy]

Another sidebar question, is the TESLA assembly line union labor? Or is it along the lines of 'Management and Labor work together rather than adversaries'? (I come from both a Management and a Union Labor upbringing :crying

Tesla is 100% not unionized. I believe that was in the Wired Model S "Through the window" video.

I'm pretty sure Musk is anti-union but don't quote me on that.