Tesla Fremont Factory
Tesla’s car factory in Fremont, California, the former GM–Toyota NUMMI plant. In two posts of Tim Urban’s Wait But Why series it is where he tours Tesla’s production line and test-drives a Model S.
At a glance
| Source | Author | Role | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elon Musk Series: Introduction | Tim Urban | setting | Urban tours the former NUMMI plant and its robot assembly lines. |
| How Tesla Will Change The World | Tim Urban | turning point | A Model S test drive here gives Urban his ‘iPhone moment’ about electric cars. |
Elon Musk Series: Introduction — Tim Urban (2015)
Source: Original · Readwise highlight
When I pulled up to the Tesla factory (joined by Andrew), I was first taken by its size
- Role: setting
- In the article: Urban tours the factory, once jointly owned by GM and Toyota and sold to Tesla in 2010: red robots building cars, the battery section, rolls of aluminium and a huge press, plus the design studio with a clay Model 3.
- Why it matters: The visit gives the series its first-hand view of how Tesla builds cars.
How Tesla Will Change The World — Tim Urban (2015)
Source: Original · Readwise highlight
I had driven to the Tesla factory that morning in what had felt like a brand new rental car, and I left the factory in the same car, now feeling like a 1982 model.
- Role: turning point
- In the article: Urban test-drives a Model S at the factory and leaves feeling his rental car has become obsolete, the same disruption he felt on first using an iPhone.
- Why it matters: The drive is his personal evidence for the article’s claim that electric cars will replace petrol cars.