Xinye · Share | the other side of Tesla: "Production Mania"

Author | Wang Ci

Edit | Qiu Kaijun

"I think I know more about manufacturing than anyone alive on Earth right now."

On April 14, Tesla CEO Musk and Chris Anderson, the head of TED, answered questions about Tesla's manufacturing advantages.

Musk said, "I lived in the Fremont and Nevada factories for 3 years, repaired production lines, and ran around every corner of the factory like a madman. Live with the team and sleep on the floor. ”

The 3 years Musk said are 2017-2019. It was during this period that Tesla achieved mass production climbing, and for the first time in human history, it entered the stage of mass production of electric vehicles.

Later, in 2020 and 2021, Tesla's deliveries will approach the 500,000 and 1 million vehicle thresholds, respectively, and it is expected to exceed 1.5 million vehicles this year. In the production of electric vehicles, Tesla's scale is overwhelming, much ahead of the second place.

Source: Tesla Annual Report, compiled by Electric Vehicle Observer

Compared with Tesla's research and development innovation and model innovation in electric and intelligent, Tesla's ability to call it a "production maniac" has been underestimated.

Tesla can not only develop and design the best electric vehicles, but also produce electric vehicles most efficiently and at the lowest cost – in 2021, Tesla's automotive business gross margin will be 30.9%.

This figure can silence global car companies, but also hit the face of early people who questioned Tesla's inability to make a profit.

It is necessary to fully study Tesla's manufacturing capabilities, which can not only help us understand Tesla, but also let the catch-up people understand that the gap in production and manufacturing must also be caught up.

01

California plant: Test site

Aerial view of the California factory

Timeline of major events in California factories; Electric Vehicle Watcher collates mapping

The California factory, which produces two-thirds of North America's electric cars, was picked up cheaply for $42 million by Tesla.

In 2010, the auto industry had yet to recover from the heavy blow of the financial turmoil. Toyota and GM, which originally owned the California plant, were eager to reduce the burden, and Tesla was lucky enough to buy the factory worth $1 billion for $42 million.

At the time, Tesla had only one Roadster, based on Lotus's 2,500 chassis. The factory that Tesla bought was put into use after a simple transformation, because the amount was too small, and it could be used.

In June 2012, the world's first Model S rolled off the production line and was delivered to Steve Jurvetson, director of Tesla SpaceX. At the time, the Fremont, California plant could only produce 60 cars a week.

In 2012, Tesla began production of the Model S at its California factory; in the third quarter of 2015, it began to produce the Model X; in the third quarter of 2017, it began to produce the Model 3; and in 2020, the Model Y also began to be produced here.

Source: Tesla Announcement

Before 2017, Tesla's annual production was under 100,000 units, which was not much of a challenge for the California factory. Moreover, in the early days, Tesla did not pursue too much quantity and did not design cars that were too difficult to produce.

Note: Excludes Roadster, Source: Tesla Announcement

However, in the process, some drawbacks of the California factory were gradually exposed. Tesla is also constantly tinkering.

The factory pays attention to the optimization of logistics and transportation as much as possible to make the route shortest, so as to reduce costs and increase efficiency. However, from the perspective of the original process layout of the California factory, the distance from the stamping workshop to the welding workshop, welding to painting, and plastic parts to the assembly workshop is relatively far. Such a process layout is obviously unreasonable.

Tesla has been upgrading its California factory to support production growth.

In 2014, the number of employees in the California factory reached 2,000, and half of the area was optimized and put into use, the process layout was more compact, and the production efficiency was improved.

California factory after the process layout upgrade

But three years after the seams were patched, the California plant faced unprecedented challenges.

In April 2016, Tesla's first civilian model, the Model 3, was released in the United States, and once the new model was released, it swept orders of 400,000 units in 20 days. Tesla ushered in the troubles of happiness - so many orders. How to deliver as soon as possible? You know, Tesla's annual output that year was only more than 70,000 vehicles.

Mass production is more difficult than you can imagine. The aforementioned 2017-2019 of Musk's sleeping factory is exactly the three years of Tesla's mass production ramp-up at tesla's California factory.

Musk initially wanted the factory to be extremely automated, using machines to make machines. Tesla has designed a highly automated production line with more than 1,000 robots and assembly machines, and robots are involved in the production and manufacturing of stamping, body, paint and assembly. Moreover, the Model 3 is a civilian model, which must be significantly reduced in cost and reduce manpower expenditure. However, the actual effect is far less than expected.

In 2016, Musk said that by the end of 2017, Tesla could produce 20,000 vehicles per month. By the fourth quarter of 2017, however, the California plant had produced only 2,425 Model 3s.

Musk also had to admit his mistake. He responded to criticism on Twitter, saying, "Yes, Tesla's over-automation is a mistake. Exactly, it was my mistake. Humanity is undervalued! ”

Tesla has made adjustments to replace some of it with some degree of semi-automation and manual assembly. Ultimately, the Model 3 assembly line is still 95 percent automated, including transportation, loading, and part welding.

In 2018, Musk took over the factory. In the face of skepticism, he said, "As CEO, my job is to focus on the most critical aspect, which is the current Model 3 production.

On a CBS show, Musk shows reporters the couch he sleeps on. The couch was too narrow, and sometimes Musk simply slept on the floor. On the table on the right is his sleeping bag.

In order to increase the production capacity of Model 3, Musk lives in the factory with the team, working overtime and day and night. In 2018, Musk also set up a simple tent assembly production line around the California factory, and finally achieved the goal of producing 5,000 vehicles per week, with a production capacity of more than 200,000 vehicles that year.

Final assembly workshop of a tent factory in California

However, a weekly production of 5,000 vehicles is not enough for Musk. His productivity gains are endless. His solution was to revolutionize the way cars are produced.

The launch of the Model Y carries a tesla innovation. In 2020, Tesla announced that it will use innovative car manufacturing methods to use integrated casting technology to directly cast the original 79 components of the model Y back plate into one, which greatly improves production efficiency.

In the traditional stamping process, the die casting machine with more applications is about 2000 tons. Tesla designed the world's largest 6,000-ton die-casting machine, and its scale in the automotive industry is unprecedented. This die casting machine was first used at the California facility.

IDRA's OL6100CS large-scale one-piece die-casting equipment

In addition, on the Model Y, Musk continues to promote automation, introducing more robots on the production line.

In addition to producing cars, the California plant has also built a trial production line for 4680 batteries.

The 4680 battery is larger than tesla's previously applied 21700 battery, which will increase battery life by 54% and reduce cost by 56%.

AAA battery, AAA battery, AAA battery, 18650, 21700 and 46800 battery comparison

In January, the 1 millionth pilot production of 4680 batteries rolled off the production line at the California plant. The product test report shows that the yield rate of the 14 pilot production lines has reached 92%, which basically meets the minimum standards for mass production. Mass production will begin at the newly opened Berlin plant and The Texas plant by the end of this year.

In addition, Tesla suspected that the supplier's seats were not good, and also built a seat factory near the California vehicle factory.

As Tesla's first gigafactory, the California factory carries too many test base functions, and there are bound to be problems such as engineering experience and insufficient production experience. Under Musk's crazy technological innovation and upgrading, the annual production capacity of the California factory has been increased to 600,000 vehicles, but it still cannot meet the huge market demand.

But in the California factory, Tesla has completed the butterfly change from small batches to large batch production.

02

Shanghai plant: Delivery of more than 480,000 units per year

Aerial view of the Shanghai factory

Timeline of major events at the Shanghai plant; Electric Vehicle Observer collates drawings

Tesla wants to continue to expand its territory, and it is certainly not enough to set up factories in the United States. Tesla's first stop when it goes global is the market it values most , China.

In the eyes of China's local governments, which are eager to attract investment, Tesla is loved by thousands of people. In the end, Tesla spent shanghai.

In order to introduce Tesla's catfish, the Shanghai Municipal Government not only provided special preferential policies in land and taxation, but also gave a green light in construction. In 2019, the factory completed construction and put into production and delivery, writing the myth of the construction of the vehicle factory.

Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory is located in the southernmost Lingang Heavy Equipment Industrial Zone in Shanghai, covering an area of 1,200 acres. Although it is only half the area of the California factory, 484,000 electric vehicles were delivered in 2021, accounting for 51.7% of Tesla's total global deliveries, which is evident in production efficiency.

Layout of The Shanghai factory

Standing on the shoulders of the California factory, the Shanghai factory can be said to be smooth sailing.

Following the proven process at the California plant, production increased rapidly.

For example, the stamping process is the same as the California plant, and the Shanghai plant also uses the world's largest 6,000-ton high-pressure die-casting machine.

Model Y integrated rear backplane

The welding workshop still pursues a high degree of automation, with more than 500 KUKA industrial robots working at the same time, and the high-density setting shortens the length of the entire production line, which requires a very high overall control program. The automation rate of the entire welding workshop exceeds 95%, which is a leading position in the entire automotive industry.

Shanghai factory welding workshop production line

The Shanghai factory also has an innovative point, Tesla's unique logistics warehousing system, using containers as mobile warehouses to replace the traditional logistics workshop, through which various materials can be directly sent to the production site. This logistics model does not require additional land space and is more flexible and efficient.

Transshipment containers can be transferred instead of storage warehouses

Tesla's Shanghai factory is currently only a phase one project. Construction of the second phase of the project has begun, focusing on the production of the Model Y model, which is scheduled to start production in April 2023. At that time, the annual production capacity may be gradually increased to 850,000 units.

In addition, Tesla's Shanghai factory is also vigorously promoting the localization of the supply chain. Musk has said that it is expected to reach 80% localization by the end of 2020, and the cost is constantly decreasing.

Recently, some media reported that Tesla will set up a second factory in Shanghai, adding 450,000 vehicles to production capacity, making Tesla's Shanghai factory "the world's largest automobile export hub".

The Shanghai plant is almost the fastest-built factory in the history of the automotive industry and the fastest ramping up mass production. But Tesla's technological innovation has always been on the way, and the Berlin and Texas factories completed this year are more technologically advanced and their manufacturing capabilities will be stronger.

03

Berlin factory: a major technological innovation

Aerial view of the Berlin factory

Timeline of major events at the Berlin factory; The Electric Vehicle Observer organizes mapping

Musk is awkward dancing again.

Musk danced at the delivery ceremony of the Model Y

In September 2021, Tesla's Berlin factory officially opened, and Musk danced awkwardly at the delivery ceremony of the Model Y.

In October 2021, Tesla's Berlin Gigafactory held an open house. Later, a factory video of about 3 minutes of drone shooting went viral, shocking the industry.

Layout of the Berlin factory

In addition to conventional processes, there are three major technological innovation highlights, namely integrated die casting technology, 4680 battery cells and CTC (Cell to Chassis) chassis construction.

The first highlight is the integrated die casting technology, unlike the California and Shanghai factories, the model Y model front plate production has also achieved integrated die casting production, further improving production efficiency.

One-piece die-cast production of model Y front backplane

Rear bottom plate integrated die casting technology has been applied in the front California factory and Shanghai factory.

From the integrated die casting machine just out of the rear plate of the Model Y

After the combination of the front and rear integrated die-cast body and the battery pack is the following picture: an unprecedented load-bearing body developed entirely for electric vehicles.

Front backplane + battery pack + rear backplane integrated structure

The new structure has a high structural strength and the battery cells are more concentrated, reducing the vehicle's moment of inertia and facilitating handling and steering response. The combination of the three achieves 10% lightweight and 14% endurance to enhance potential. What is even more rare is that the structure has reduced 370 body parts and manufacturing links, resulting in the layoff of hundreds of industrial robots.

The second highlight is the 4680 large cylindrical battery cell factory.

After Tesla piloted the production of 4680 batteries in the California factory, it directly planned to build a battery cell factory in the Berlin factory and the Texas factory, which was directly supplied to the automobile production plant. The battery cell factory in Berlin is planned to have a large capacity, and Musk said that the battery factory will become one of the largest battery manufacturing plants in the world, with a capacity of more than 100 GWh per year, and possibly even 200 GWh to 250 GWh.

Of course, in the short term, this battery factory must first be able to achieve mass production. It is expected to be achieved in the second quarter, and with the production capacity of Berlin automobiles, the estimated temporary target is 20GWh.

The third highlight is the first application of CTC technology.

"There's no need to put another box in the box." Musk was inspired by the gas tank of the plane. Early aircraft is to put a fuel tank in the wing, this design is like today's electric vehicle is to put a battery pack on the chassis, such a design for space is actually not used to the extreme, in the later development of the aircraft wings directly integrated fuel tank design, the wing is the fuel tank.

When the CTC technology of the Berlin factory met the 4680 battery, the possibilities for extreme manufacturing were endless, and the goal at the end of this year was to produce a Model Y body in 45 seconds.

Berlin factory 4680 + CTC structure display

For Tesla, the commissioning of the Berlin factory is of great significance. Musk is like inserting a sharp knife in Germany, the birthplace of the automotive industry, with radical technological innovation, competing with car brands such as Volkswagen and BBA.

And that's not all, the newly built Tesla Texas factory will become a cosmic "machine for producing machines."

04

Texas Factory: The world's largest single building

Aerial view of the Texas plant

Timeline of major events at the Texas plant; Electric Vehicle Observer collates mapping

On December 1, 2021, Tesla's headquarters were evacuated from California and moved to Texas.

After the completion of Tesla's Texas factory, Tesla's move was logical. The Texas factory is really important for Tesla.

Construction began in May 2020, covering an area of 12,000 acres, five times more than California, 10 times shanghai, and nearly three times the Texas Gigafactory in Berlin.

Musk mentioned that the Texas plant is the largest single building in the world, large enough to accommodate 194 billion hamsters. If the factory is erected, it is even taller than the Burj Khalifa (828 meters high in Dubai).

Texas Factory Stand view: Compare the Burj Khalifa and Eiffel Towers

In April 2022, the Texas Gigafactory was put into operation and began to show its majesty to the outside world.

The Texas Gigafactory's manufacturing idea is similar to SpaceX's efficient manufacturing of cheap rockets, and the secret lies in a high degree of vertical integration. Placing as many parts as possible under a roof for manufacturing not only reduces logistics, but also facilitates process adjustments.

Texas factory process layout floor plan

Tesla has always referred to its gigafactories as "machines that produce machines," and the Texas factory is the most advanced and efficient "machine" that is the epitome of its manufacturing capabilities. Musk uses the most extreme terms — the world's most advanced car factory, like alien technology.

The Texas and Berlin plants were put into operation almost at the same time, and there is still a trend of innovation in the production process.

Before the body shop, there were both stamped parts and one-piece die castings. The integrated die castings use the same technology as the Berlin factory, which opened last month, and there is no technical iteration for the time being. However, according to Musk, it is expected to use an 8,000-ton die-casting machine in the future, and die-casting larger parts will be applied to the electric pickup card Cybertruck. It is expected that at that time, Tesla can achieve a single die-casting molding of the front and rear bodies.

In the Texas factory, Tesla's 4680 battery cell manufacturing process and CTC arrangement technology have been iterated.

The first is the 4680 battery cell, which has been redesigned to be encapsulated in a way that may be convenient for exhaust in extreme cases, so that the design is safer. At the same time, after the battery is scrapped, it is also convenient to recycle raw materials.

On the left is the 4680 battery cell of the Berlin factory, and on the right is the 4680 battery cell of the Texas factory

In addition, the Texas factory showed that the 4680 battery cells were combined into two columns and hung up, a total of 12 groups, just to form a battery pack.

Hang up 4680 cells, 1 column of 34 or 35.

The battery pack is also hung for display.

Battery pack structure demonstrated at the Texas plant

Here it can be seen that the 4680 battery arrangement of the Texas factory is more like the Model 3/Y structure compared to the Berlin factory, and the longitudinal arrangement is divided into 4 areas, leaving a gap in the middle. Each two columns consist of 34 + 35 = 69 cells, and a temperature control tube is laid out. Each partition is 69 *3 = 207 cells, and the entire battery Pack has a total of 828 cells. A buffer foam structure of about 25 cm wide and a longitudinal gap have been added on both sides, which greatly improves safety. "The Life of wayne in the Little Red Book," the video explains.

The battery cell arrangement structure displayed at the Texas plant

In addition, it is worth expecting that the Texas plant will start producing Tesla pickup truck Cyberruck, electric truck Semi and sports car Roadster from 2023, which will take the lead in meeting the needs of the North American market.

Tesla pickup Cyberruck, electric truck Semi, sports car Roadster

And, Musk said in a speech at the Cyber Rodeo event in Texas: "It is expected to start production of the first version of Optimus next year." Humanoid robots will better serve humans and create infinite possibilities.

Introduction to Tesla humanoid robots

Musk said at the opening ceremony that the main task of the Texas factory in 2022 is to climb production capacity, and 2023 will be Tesla's new product big year. With the start of production at the Texas plant, with the addition of efficient layout, integrated die casting, CTC and 4680 batteries, the planned annual output of the Model Y model alone will reach 500,000 units, and the future production capacity will reach 1 million units.

05

Production maniacs

If Tesla's four gigafactories are all in production, the production capacity will exceed 2.6 million units. Among electric vehicle companies, Tesla's capacity planning and progress are far ahead.

But don't underestimate Musk's appetite.

Musk said at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Texas factory that Tesla wants to occupy more than 20% of the global automotive market. This expectation is equivalent to twice that of Toyota Motor, the current leader of the global car company.

Is this possible?

Tesla, which has become a "production maniac", does not dare to underestimate. Tesla will continue to expand production and continue to innovate production processes.

Tesla is already considering building a fifth car plant, with a specific site announced by the end of 2022. I believe that there will be a sixth and seventh super factory in the future, and the factory at that time may be more like alien technology and more subversive.

Why can Tesla, under the leadership of Musk, have such a leading edge in production and manufacturing?

(1) Tesla considers manufacturing problems from the design level, simplifies the design as much as possible, and facilitates automated and modular production.

One of Musk's favorite phrases is "if the process is long, the design is wrong." If this implementation process is too long, then this design must be wrong.

A typical example is that in order to achieve greater automation, Tesla has shortened the length of the vehicle's wiring harness from about 3 kilometers of the Model S to 1.5 kilometers of the Model 3. Musk even boasted that the model Y's inner harness length will be less than 100 meters. However, the first Model Y disassembly found that the harness length was about the same as the Model 3.

Another classic example is Cyberteruck, which has not yet been mass-produced. It is extremely streamlined in design and will create the easiest car to produce. It has no wipers, no turn signals, no front bumpers, and no rearview mirrors. The outer coverings are currently flat stainless steel combinations and are also very easy to manufacture.

(2) Musk rethinks automobile manufacturing based on first principles, never following the rules and innovating vigorously.

The traditional automotive process has been running for nearly 100 years, and the conventional configuration of the four major processes of punching, welding, coating and totaling processes has been popular for a long time.

However, Musk realized that there were too many parts in such a mode and the process was too long. Tesla has almost single-handedly pushed forward the one-piece die-casting technology, drastically reducing the number of body parts.

As far as the body is concerned, the essence is to provide the car with load, which requires sufficient stiffness and strength, and if a die casting can be done, there is no need to produce and reassemble it in pieces.

In the design, production and assembly of the 4680 battery, the first principle is prominently embodied. The 4680 battery allows the power battery application to remove all intermediate links, no module, no battery pack. This is the CTC chassis, a design that allows new cars to lose 10 percent of their weight, increase their battery life by 14 percent, and reduce body parts by as much as 370. Undoubtedly, this design can also greatly improve production efficiency.

In terms of applying innovative technologies, many car companies may wait for the maturity of technology based on the safety considerations of automobiles. But Musk is different, he dares to boldly apply the technology that has not yet been proven, and promote its maturity. And most of the time, he's right.

(3) Musk is never satisfied, and continues to innovate.

The battery cell went from 18650 to 21700 and then to 4680;

One-piece die-casting machine, from the side of the rear body that can be die-cast at one time, to the entire rear body, to the front body, but also to the entire body;

California factories tried to automate production to the extreme failed, Shanghai factories continued to improve the automation rate, Berlin factories, Texas factories continued to improve...

Tesla is a production maniac today, but its first car, basically a global purchase, was even produced in Taiwan at first, and then assembled in California. Tesla's manufacturing starting point is very low, but today it is proud of the entire industry, relying on continuous innovation.

(4) Musk himself has great enthusiasm and investment in manufacturing, which has guided the Tesla team to pursue the ultimate pursuit of production and manufacturing. "We love manufacturing." Musk has told analysts.

Musk spent his early years supervising a newly installed robot at the factory

Although Tesla has always acted as a subversive, musk actually has a very deep understanding of automobile manufacturing, and he also respects and understands the necessity and difficulty of large-scale production of automobiles.

Because of this, after the California factory broke through mass production, Musk sent an email to employees saying, "We have become a real car company." ”

Going back to the days when Tesla was "producing hell," Musk said, "I slept on the floor at that time, because then, the team members who were going through the difficulties could see me sleeping on the floor instead of in the ivory tower, and they would know that no matter what pain they went through, I was there." ”

Employees know that what the boss puts in his energy is really important. In contrast, many owners of smart electric cars still sleep in ivory towers.

Source: Electric Vehicle Observer