Tesla's Giga Mexico is expected to take 12 to 15 months to build
EsperJohnathan (Edited by Not a Tesla App)
Tesla is set to construct a new Gigafactory in Mexico, with an extended construction timeline of 12 to 15 months. This is longer than the record-breaking nine months it took to build Giga Shanghai but for a good reason. Governor Samuel García Sepúlveda revealed that the longer construction time is due to the company working on a new production line for Tesla's upcoming compact car, which is expected to be a smaller version of the Model Y.
Developing a New Production Line
In an interview with Milenio Televisión, Governor García Sepúlveda explained the reason behind the extended construction period: "In the beginning, there was talk that they wanted to break the nine-month Shanghai record, but with the meetings, we have been having, the model they want to bring out, which is the economic model that is going to be sold massively, is going to require a whole new production line."
The production line is currently in the workshop stage, and the construction will commence once completed. Governor García Sepúlveda revealed that Nuevo León was ready to start in November 2022, awaiting the final rendering of the plant for necessary adjustments. "Since November, when they practically gave us the green light, we moved in turbo, in water, in electricity, in gas, in school and connectors. We are ready, we have to wait for the final render to adapt, polish and start the projects that Nuevo León has been ready to start since November, and as soon as Tesla tells us to go ahead, we will start," he said.
Largest Gigafactory and a New Sustainable City Model
The Governor highlighted that the Santa Catarina plant will not only be Tesla's most enormous, surpassing Texas, but the largest in the world. "This is going to be the largest Gigafactory in dimension worldwide, even bigger, by far, than the one in Texas, which is the biggest today," he said. In addition, the arrival of Tesla in the state will bring a new sustainable and connected city model.
This significant investment will benefit Santa Catarina and neighboring cities and states. García Sepúlveda sees a bright future for Nuevo León, as it is destined to become the world hub of electromobility.
With the construction of the Tesla Gigafactory Mexico underway, the region is poised to become a global center for electromobility and sustainable innovation. While the construction of Tesla Gigafactory Mexico is taking longer than Giga Shanghai, focusing on a new production line for the company's $25k compact car is an exciting development.
For the first time in quite a while, Tesla has increased the price of one of its vehicle offerings. The Model S Long Range and the Model S Plaid have both received a hefty price increase. However, not all is bad - as Tesla also added a new benefit for buyers.
Price Increase
The price increase for the Model S is $5,000 - currently only in the United States. This price increase will likely impact other markets, including Canada, in the coming days.
The Model S Long Range now starts at $79,990, while the Model S Plaid now starts at $94,990. The Model S and Model X now have the same starting price. Interestingly, that’s also the same pricing point for the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast Trimotor non-Foundation Series.
The vehicle configuration does not appear to have changed, so the new pricing is simply an increase rather than the addition or removal of features. Tesla previously cut the price of the Model S and Model X by 15% in 2023, so this could simply be an adjustment to ensure that the vehicle pricing stays in line with inflation and other factors.
Free Lifetime Supercharging
For those on the fence about ordering a Model S, Tesla has brought back Free Lifetime Supercharging when you order a new Model S on or after December 13, 2024. As always, Free Lifetime Supercharging is restricted to the buyer’s Tesla account and to that specific vehicle. It cannot be transferred to another vehicle or another owner after ownership transfer. It’s worth noting, that it also doesn’t exclude the owner from receiving Supercharger idle fees or congestion fees. There is currently no end date for this promotion.
There are currently no changes to the Model X, neither a price increase nor the addition of Lifetime Superchargering. However, when Tesla makes changes to one of their premium vehicles, it usually affects the other one as well. So be on the lookout for potential changes to the Model X offering in the coming days.
We’ve seen Tesla value Lifetime Supercharging at $5,000, so this falls in line with the price increase we’re seeing. It’s possible that Tesla will begin to bring back Lifetime Supercharging as a perk for buying into their more premium Model S and Model X cars, or this could be another temporary promotion to get buyers who are on the fence to go ahead and make their purchase while this promotion lasts.
Tesla recently showed off a demo of Optimus, its humanoid robot, walking around in moderately challenging terrain—not on a flat surface but on dirt and slopes. These things can be difficult for a humanoid robot, especially during the training cycle.
Most interestingly, Milan Kovac, VP of Engineering for Optimus, clarified what it takes to get Optimus to this stage. Let’s break down what he said.
Optimus is Blind
Optimus is getting seriously good at walking now - it can keep its balance over uneven ground - even while walking blind. Tesla is currently using just the sensors, all powered by a neural net running on the embedded computer.
Essentially, Tesla is building Optimus from the ground up, relying on as much additional data as possible while it trains vision. This is similar to how they train FSD on vehicles, using LiDAR rigs to validate the vision system’s accuracy. While Optimus doesn’t have LiDAR, it relies on all those other sensors on board, many of which will likely become simplified as vision takes over as the primary sensor.
Today, Optimus is walking blind, but it’s able to react almost instantly to changes in the terrain underneath it, even if it falls or slips.
What’s Next?
Next up, Tesla AI will be adding vision to Optimus - helping complete the neural net. Remember, Optimus runs on the same overall AI stack as FSD - in fact, Optimus uses an FSD computer and an offshoot of the FSD stack for vision-based tasks.
Milan mentions they’re planning on adding vision to help the robot plan ahead and improve its walking gait. While the zombie shuffle is iconic and a little bit amusing, getting humanoid robots to walk like humans is actually difficult.
There’s plenty more, too - including better responsiveness to velocity and direction commands and learning to fall and stand back up. Falling while protecting yourself to minimize damage is something natural to humans - but not exactly natural to something like a robot. Training it to do so is essential in keeping the robot, the environment around it, and the people it is interacting with safe.
We’re excited to see what’s coming with Optimus next because it is already getting started in some fashion in Tesla’s factories.
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