Tesla Motors, the company responsible for mass producing the electric car Model S, has claimed to be confident that the production would double to 800 per week until late 2014. In other words, they believe themselves to making equivalent to 40,000 Model S vehicles per year. The latest news provided with an interview with Co-Founder Elon Musk notes that he has said that right now they are "above 400 a week at the current manpower, and not trivially above it." Thus, this helps form the conclusion that they hold of the number they would be mass producing and selling.
But, how is Tesla Motors S able to produce such a large number of vehicles in a short length of time? How are they different from other automakers when it comes to building the cars? What helps them be more efficient?
The video below, produced by WIRED magazine, allows us to take a look inside the 5 million-square-foot New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), which is currently known as the Tesla Factory, in Fremont, California.
1. The SolarKindle
One product that grabbed much attention at this year's Consumer Electronics Show was a cover case with a solar panel for Amazon's Kindle E-reader, showcased by Solar Focus. From just one hour of stable sunlight, the SolarKindle collects enough power to your device for 3 consecutive days. What's more amazing is that the SolarKindle is advertised as being able to be powered 3 consecutive months under "normal" sunlight conditions.
2. Artificial Leaf
A researcher from MIT has developed a technology in what he calls an "Artificial Leaf", which is an energy storage technology that successfully mimics the process of photosynthesis. The so called "Artificial Leaf" is engineered to use solar energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, providing a fuel cell making off-grid lifestyle possible. It has been confirmed that Sun Catalystix will work on many products using only renewable energy, fueled with electricity for household items and tools. The product is soon to be advertised for commercial use.
3. The Lotus Position
What they call "Lotus", is a structure designed to charge up electric vehicles as well as lighting up the streets with LED lighting. An italian architect Giancarlo Zemo along with an architectural design company known as "Luminexece" has created a multi-function design. A small "Lotus" generates 500 watts of electricity and larger models generates 2.8 kilowatts. The structural design most definitely is envisioned as a solar powered charging station for electric vehicles for the future.
Now you know there are people out there that don't give a crap about having the gas prices skyrocketing since his own car is modded to run on solar energy. Amazing.
