Ideas where will TST be built?

[Texla911]

Where will TST be built?

 

[NeverFollow]

I imagine that the Tesla Semi-Truck announcement created a big shakeup in the Truck industry.

There must be a lot of companies eager to perform the assembly of the Tesla Semi-Truck. See for example:

Mack logs worst year of truck deliveries since 2010 (February 1, 2017)

 

[Zaphod]

Where will TST be built?

My guess would be at the Gigafactory in Nevada.

 

[Brando]

Where will TST be built?

@Zaphod I think is correct. Tesla is earth moving next to GigaFactory site. So some kind of expansion going on.
electric motors? power electronics [inverters, converters, controllers] ?

 

[Grendal]

I will third Zaphod's guess. The gigafactory has the space.

 

[Ulmo]

I heard Livermore in those huge new buildings. I don't think what I heard precludes any other possibilities, nor vice versa.

 

[Phoenix1]

I think it will be an all new facility. Fremont is at capacity, and livermore is really just a warehouse

If they are smart they will put it in a solid red state to drive some goodwill and politcal capital. Might even use it as a lever to get direct sales allowed somewhere.

 

[iwannam3]

I think it will be an all new facility. Fremont is at capacity, and livermore is really just a warehouse

If they are smart they will put it in a solid red state to drive some goodwill and politcal capital. Might even use it as a lever to get direct sales allowed somewhere.

Detroit would be a good choice, lots of unused buildings, lots of suppliers, force Michigan to open to Tesla. It is the dealers that fear the direct sales mode, the manufacturers would love it.

 

[J X 3]

It's low volumes at first as no large customer orders lots without doing a pilot first to figure out how it best fits their needs.
During their Q1 call, Tesla said they have 2000 orders. So it's safe to assume that they only need a few thousand units per quarter at first (best case scenario) and ramp from there over the years.
They likely reuse a lot of existing parts and given the low volumes, they likely start with few dedicated machines and more human workers - this is really important , start making it without spending much capital on tools as they just can't afford to ramp M3, prepare for MY and new locations in China and EU plus repay some debt all next year. They almost certainly need to take some more debt next year as it is, no matter how well M3 production is going.

A new US location hasn't been mentioned at all and no point starting it in the EU or China so it will likely be split between Fremont and Giga1, just like M3. Doesn't make sense for general assembly at Giga1 unless they plan to do Model Y there too and do almost everything there but that might imply a delay to 2020 for the TST.
A similar thinking can be applied to the Roadster, ofc with the difference that the TST will ramp to higher volumes in time.
Would assume longer term they shift part of M3 prod to non US ;locations and they likely need a new US GF by 2021 as the pickup arrives.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Pitch Tent. Build TST. Sorted?

 

[hmerrill3]

...Might even use it as a lever to get direct sales allowed somewhere.

Oh, you mean like Texas?
There's a reason why Toyota chose to build trucks here, shortest distance to the market... If you took all the pick-ups and SUV's off the roads here in Houston we would have no rush hour.

 

[iwannam3]

Oh, you mean like Texas?
There's a reason why Toyota chose to build trucks here, shortest distance to the market... If you took all the pick-ups and SUV's off the roads here in Houston we would have no rush hour.

If all the cars on the road were electric you would have no Houston and oil industry!

 

[hmerrill3]

If all the cars on the road were electric you would have no Houston and oil industry!

Mistaken notion that Houston is ALL oil industry, While oil and oil services is a substantial percentage of the Houston economy its economy is a lot more diverse than it was in the '80's and that diversity is not limited to just its economy.

If there's any interest in knowing more, I'll let others do the talking...
Full Show: What The Annual Houston Area Survey Tells Us About Our City (April 23, 2018)