Building Tesla
Just as Tesla’s cars don’t feel like anything from Detroit, the California factory that produces the company’s upcoming Model S electric sedan is inspired as much by Tesla’s high-tech neighbors in Silicon Valley as by a typical auto plant. In particular, Tesla is obsessive about taking care of details itself—whether it’s forming the cars’ bodies from scratch or making tools for the robots that build the vehicles.







A finished Model S will start at just under $50,000; fully loaded Signature models will cost about $98,000. Given that price, some doubt that Tesla’s approach, cool or not, is viable in the long term. “Look at the [Chevrolet] Volt,” says Jay Baron, president of the Center for Automotive Research. “That’s not selling, and that’s at $40,000. I would see the future as being very challenging for Tesla.” Passin sounds confident nonetheless: “Not one day goes by when [Tesla cofounder] Elon Musk doesn’t remind me—as if I would forget—that this factory is capable of making half a million vehicles a year. There’s no doubt in my mind that this factory is going to be full, sooner rather than later.”
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Geoffrey Hinton tells us why he’s now scared of the tech he helped build
“I have suddenly switched my views on whether these things are going to be more intelligent than us.”
ChatGPT is going to change education, not destroy it
The narrative around cheating students doesn’t tell the whole story. Meet the teachers who think generative AI could actually make learning better.
Meet the people who use Notion to plan their whole lives
The workplace tool’s appeal extends far beyond organizing work projects. Many users find it’s just as useful for managing their free time.
Learning to code isn’t enough
Historically, learn-to-code efforts have provided opportunities for the few, but new efforts are aiming to be inclusive.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.