Tesla Manufacturing: More Factories, More Production?

Fictiv CEO Dave Evans on the future of the gigafactory.

Over a decade ago, Elon Musk coined a new term for large factories: Gigafactory. Since that time, Tesla has built giga factories in China, Texas and in Germany, with a plant in Mexico to follow soon. The very large manufacturing complex has its origins a century ago with large automakers like Ford, but the trend toward outsourcing of ever larger assemblies suggested a trend toward smaller, decentralized operations. Tesla uses a model geared toward vertical integration, and with the breakdown of supply chains during Covid, keeping more production in-house has shown to have definite advantages. 

Is Tesla’s model of very large scale manufacturing the future of all manufacturing? Fictiv CEO Dave Evans comments in conversation with Jim Anderton.

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Written by

James Anderton

Jim Anderton is the Director of Content for ENGINEERING.com. Mr. Anderton was formerly editor of Canadian Metalworking Magazine and has contributed to a wide range of print and on-line publications, including Design Engineering, Canadian Plastics, Service Station and Garage Management, Autovision, and the National Post. He also brings prior industry experience in quality and part design for a Tier One automotive supplier.