Giga Texas is In, Giga Mexico Out As Tesla Quietly Starts Installing $25K Car (Robotaxi) Production Equipment in Texas

For a few months now, rumors have been circulating claiming that Tesla has delayed Giga Mexico plans by a few years. Initially, these rumors suggested that permitting issues were behind Tesla’s decision to delay building the factory.

However, more credible sources in the past few weeks suggest that the reason behind the delay is the fact that Tesla has decided to initially start manufacturing the $25,000 compact car, which is expected to be the first vehicle to be produced at Giga Mexico, to start production at Giga Texas.

Breaking: @Tesla Spotted Filming a New Cybertruck Promotional Video Against @Porsche 911 & @Ford F-150 Lighting at Giga Texas. @elonmusk#Tesla
-https://t.co/9P6GvZCYgB
- pic.twitter.com/ACyig7a7Vj
— Torque News (@torquenewsauto) November 7, 2023

Tesla’s yet-to-be-named $25,000 vehicle (internally codenamed “robotaxi”) is built using the company’s next-generation Gen-3 vehicle platform. The Gen-3 platform is a fundamental rethink of how the final assembly of a vehicle is done.

Related News: Tesla Starts Pumping Out White Interior Cybertrucks at Giga Texas

Rather than adding parts together to a single frame that eventually becomes a complete car, the Gen-3 platform imagines building a vehicle in multiple modules that in the end connect together to yield a complete vehicle.

Tesla has gone into detail about how this approach to building a vehicle could yield a 50% reduction in the cost of producing a vehicle. The cost reduction is achieved through allowing increased automation, increasing speed, decreasing capital expenditure, and decreasing complexity.

So what does the Gen-3 platform has to do with the Giga Mexico delay? Since Tesla is trying out bleeding-edge technologies with the new platform, Musk has decided the first Gen-3 production line should be built close to Tesla’s top executive team which resides at Tesla’s headquarters in Giga Texa.

For this single but crucial reason, it means that Giga Texas has taken from Giga Mexico the place of the first factory to build Tesla’s next-generation vehicle.

Currently, it’s not exactly clear how far Tesla has pushed plans for Giga Mexico. Some supplier leaks suggest Tesla might have pushed the start of production at the Mexico plant to as far as 2027.

This is certainly disappointing for Mexico however, in the meantime, Tesla appears to be quietly setting the stage to start robotaxi production at Giga Texas.

A recent drone flyover of the Texas facility by Joe Tegtmeyer shows Tesla moving “a large component of another TKS modular painting system. What makes this really interesting, besides the continued expansion of Giga Texas's paint systems is the location. 2nd Floor of the east side Body-in-White section of the main building!”

Another potentially significant development at Giga Texas today is the movement of a large component of another TKS modular painting system. What makes this really interesting, besides the continued expansion of Giga Texas's paint systems is the location. 2nd Floor of the east… pic.twitter.com/LkAyOOKmaa
— Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer) November 6, 2023

The 2nd floor of the Texas facility is where Tesla is rumored to be setting up the next generation production line for the $25,000 vehicle.

Given the fact that Tesla hasn’t even unveiled the $25,000 vehicle, you might be inclined to believe the new paint system being unloaded at Giga Texas is for some other purpose.

However, Tesla suppliers have communicated that they have received a large contract from Tesla, in order of components enough for 4 million vehicles a year, for a yet-to-be-revealed Tesla vehicle.

The suppliers have even gone so far as to share their concerns with the fact that Tesla made a very large components order without even unveiling the vehicle.

Add this knowledge to the fact that Tesla is now starting to install production equipment on the second floor of the Texas facility and all signs point to Tesla trying to quietly get as close to production as possible without unveiling the new vehicle.

Tesla’s decision is likely due to the fact that if the EV maker announces a brand new exciting vehicle for a fraction of the cost of the company’s current lineup, then it will create an Osborne effect where production of the new vehicle hasn’t yet started to generate revenue but people waiting for that vehicle have stopped buying Teslas.

Currently, this is all the information we’ve regarding Tesla’s timeline for the $25,000 car. However, we’ll be sure to keep you posted when we learn more about Tesla’s plans.

Until then, make sure to visit our site torquenews.com/Tesla regularly for the latest updates.

So what do you think? Excited to see a Cybertruck prototype with a white interior? Do you think a white interior works with the Cybertruck? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Image: Courtesy of Joe Tegtmeyer on X

For more information check out: Elon Musk is Now the Proud Owner of a Fully Drivable Wooden Tesla Cybertruck Following a Heartfelt Online Conversation

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and The evolution of the EV space on a daily basis for several years. He covers everything about Tesla from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.