Video: Tesla Factory by Drone in 4K (Fremont, CA)

[tom66]

At 1:40, looks like some Model X's?
And 6 seconds later a nice green Roadster... way out of the employee parking area. Maybe a mule for the upgraded battery.

 

[dalalsid]

I still don't get why that factory is not covered in solar panels.

 

[siucity]

OP, what model drone do you have?

He mentioned the Phantom 3, which is an amazing and easy to fly quadcopter. I have one, but I'm still flying in open areas above nothing but dry grass and trees.

Phantom 3 Drone - Smart Drones | DJI

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Thanks for the video. I fly a drone now and then, and personally can't see the difference between a video like this and a news helicopter, or a telephoto shot from a nearby rooftop. At 300 - 400 feet, you can hardly hear it, so noise is not the problem. The concern over parts falling from the sky are pure FUD from people who are not interested enough to do any research. People worried about "privacy" are being silly: Nobody cares how big your pool is behind your house. Other than that, what in the world are you hiding that the police helicopters don't fly over every day? Or in my area, Tourist helicopters.

It's like the guy said the other day: The only problem with the new Ludicrous upgrade is the loud whine, and he didn't mean from the car. Some people just gotta worry.

My house and my solar panels. Gee, I hope nobody sees this!

View attachment 87935

Interestingly enough, the first thing I did with my quadcopter was to fly up and take pictures of my solar panels. My property is way smaller than yours though!

 

[physicsfita]

I still don't get why that factory is not covered in solar panels.

My thoughts exactly!

 

[Stephen]

I figured since there are plenty of Tesla gigafactory drone videos floating around (which also involve a drone flying over Tesla owned private property) that flying the drone over the Fremont factory wouldn't be a big issue. If it were an issue, I would have found out by now because I already forwarded the video to my former Tesla coworkers (I was an engineer there for 4.5 years, took a new job a few months ago). They all loved it.
The drone is a Phantom 3. I primarily use it for making nature scenery type videos but I figured the factory would make a cool video.

 

[muleferg]

was an engineer there for 4.5 years, took a new job a few months ago). They all loved it.

Did Mr Musk thank you

 

[pmadflyer]

Now you just have to get some new GF footage.
jk
I wish.

 

[Rockster]

First post!

Duh. Sorry.

 

[TheTalkingMule]

4.0 earthquake in Fremont today. Everybody grab a battery!

 

[Judge Advocate]

I am assuming you have full insurance coverage of at least 2 million dollars liability?
Do you have a special Flight Operations certificate to fly over this building on a given date?
Have you taken Ground School courses so you are up to date with weather patterns and flight laws?
My guess is a flat "no" to all three questions.
Did you ask Tesla for permission? My guess is no again.
The FAA is constantly looking for people who post illegal videos. These folks most likely will get caught and fined severely. I would suggest you take it down immediately as it is totally illegal.
It also gives us professional UAV users a bad name.

Know the rules before you fly.
What if it lost an engine and crashed onto one of those $100,000.00 cars? With no insurance you would be forced to give up your life savings to pay for the damages not to mention hospital bills should there have been someone in the car.
Without a flight certificate and insurance, it's just not worth the risk to fly this kind of a dangerous flight.
It still amazes me how many people there are flying uav's and hoping nothing will happen.
I am hoping any moderators who see the video, will remove the link asap. TMC could also be held accountable in the eyes of the FAA.

,

 

[siucity]

I am assuming you have full insurance coverage of at least 2 million dollars liability?
Do you have a special Flight Operations certificate to fly over this building on a given date?
Have you taken Ground School courses so you are up to date with weather patterns and flight laws?
My guess is a flat "no" to all three questions.
Did you ask Tesla for permission? My guess is no again.
The FAA is constantly looking for people who post illegal videos. These folks most likely will get caught and fined severely. I would suggest you take it down immediately as it is totally illegal.
It also gives us professional UAV users a bad name.

Know the rules before you fly.
What if it lost an engine and crashed onto one of those $100,000.00 cars? With no insurance you would be forced to give up your life savings to pay for the damages not to mention hospital bills should there have been someone in the car.
Without a flight certificate and insurance, it's just not worth the risk to fly this kind of a dangerous flight.
It still amazes me how many people there are flying uav's and hoping nothing will happen.
I am hoping any moderators who see the video, will remove the link asap. TMC could also be held accountable in the eyes of the FAA.

,

I'm genuinely curious...where is the language on the FAA site that makes this video illegal?

 

[Qualchan]

I still don't get why that factory is not covered in solar panels.

And my thoughts as well. That's a lot of open real estate on that roof. OP Stephen, would you have any inside info as to why no solar panels have been mounted on the factory roof? There was a small solar array seen mounted on the ground. I wonder if that's what charged the Power Packs for the demo?

 

[Judge Advocate]

I'm genuinely curious...where is the language on the FAA site that makes this video illegal?

It's not the actual video that's illegal but the fact a drone was used to fly over the building. That is illegal, and the video just proves it.

 

[stephenpace]

I still don't get why that factory is not covered in solar panels.

On the factor tour, they explained that eventually the roof will be covered with solar panels, but the roof is in poor condition right now and actually can't hold the weight. At $42M, the plant was a 'bit' of a fixer-upper. They certainly want to do it, but rebuilding 5.4 million square feet of roof is not the highest priority they have going right now.

 

[cgiGuy]

It's not the actual video that's illegal but the fact a drone was used to fly over the building. That is illegal, and the video just proves it.

I notice your profile says you're in Canada. So, are you using Canadian regulations in your opinion? Most of the things you mentioned (ground school, flight operations certifications, 2 million insurance, etc.) would be more along the lines of commercial use requirements. Hobbyists are given more leeway.

Probably the only issues the FAA could raise with this is that he didn't have line of sight the whole time (my guess based on how far away it was flown over the plant) and the potential that he flew over people in the parking lot.

 

[LetsGoFast]

I am assuming you have full insurance coverage of at least 2 million dollars liability?
Do you have a special Flight Operations certificate to fly over this building on a given date?
Have you taken Ground School courses so you are up to date with weather patterns and flight laws?
My guess is a flat "no" to all three questions.
Did you ask Tesla for permission? My guess is no again.
The FAA is constantly looking for people who post illegal videos. These folks most likely will get caught and fined severely. I would suggest you take it down immediately as it is totally illegal.
It also gives us professional UAV users a bad name.

Know the rules before you fly.
What if it lost an engine and crashed onto one of those $100,000.00 cars? With no insurance you would be forced to give up your life savings to pay for the damages not to mention hospital bills should there have been someone in the car.
Without a flight certificate and insurance, it's just not worth the risk to fly this kind of a dangerous flight.
It still amazes me how many people there are flying uav's and hoping nothing will happen.
I am hoping any moderators who see the video, will remove the link asap. TMC could also be held accountable in the eyes of the FAA.

,

You appear to be confusing the rules for flying a drone for commercial purposes with the rules governing model aircraft by recreational users. See this FAA guidance. If you can point me to some other regulation that says what you claim above, I'd love to see it.

 

[NorCalSJ]

I am assuming you have full insurance coverage of at least 2 million dollars liability?
Do you have a special Flight Operations certificate to fly over this building on a given date?
Have you taken Ground School courses so you are up to date with weather patterns and flight laws?
My guess is a flat "no" to all three questions.
Did you ask Tesla for permission? My guess is no again.
The FAA is constantly looking for people who post illegal videos. These folks most likely will get caught and fined severely. I would suggest you take it down immediately as it is totally illegal.
It also gives us professional UAV users a bad name.

Know the rules before you fly.
What if it lost an engine and crashed onto one of those $100,000.00 cars? With no insurance you would be forced to give up your life savings to pay for the damages not to mention hospital bills should there have been someone in the car.
Without a flight certificate and insurance, it's just not worth the risk to fly this kind of a dangerous flight.
It still amazes me how many people there are flying uav's and hoping nothing will happen.
I am hoping any moderators who see the video, will remove the link asap. TMC could also be held accountable in the eyes of the FAA.

,

GREAT video!!! ignore all these self-proclaimed know it alls!!!! It would also help if he knew what he was talking about.

 

[Judge Advocate]

GREAT video!!! ignore all these self-proclaimed know it alls!!!! It would also help if he knew what he was talking about.

Go ahead then, fly a drone over someone and watch it crash and injure someone! Intelligent Hobbyists as well as commercial ops follow the same rules for safety.
If you fly as a hobbyist, without taking the precautions mentioned, then you are a total ( You know the word )! Be prepared to have charges laid against you not to mention a possible lawsuit. It doesn't matter what country you are from either. End of story!

 

[LetsGoFast]

If you fly as a hobbyist, without taking the precautions mentioned, then you are a total ( You know the word )! Be prepared to have charges laid against you not to mention a possible lawsuit. It doesn't matter what country you are from either. End of story!

There are no charges that can be filed because he broke no laws or regulations, as set forth above. In the unlikely event he injured someone or damaged property with a 2 pound drone, they would have to show negligence in order to prevail in a lawsuit.

 

[linkster]

GREAT video!!! ignore all these self-proclaimed know it alls!!!! It would also help if he knew what he was talking about.

+1

yeah really....just what this forum needs, more "policeman"

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On the factor tour, they explained that eventually the roof will be covered with solar panels, but the roof is in poor condition right now and actually can't hold the weight. At $42M, the plant was a 'bit' of a fixer-upper. They certainly want to do it, but rebuilding 5.4 million square feet of roof is not the highest priority they have going right now.

Thanks for the information!