Tesla looking at cameras, radar in Florida crash

American electric carmaker, Tesla Motors has hinted at expanding its manufacturing bases in the future and it might consider setting up a Gigafactory in India.

Even before Tesla reported the first known death of a driver using its autopilot feature, some employees anxious the auto company wasn’t taking every possible precaution.

Speaking to reported recently, Musk said that the $35,000 “Model 3” has been ready for two weeks and is now set to be mass produced. When it’s finished, however, it will span 10 million square feet, making it one of the largest buildings in the world.

In light of this landmark opening, edie brings you seven things you probably didn’t know about the Tesla Gigafactory – the crown jewel in Musk’s clean energy dynasty aspirations. Each one of those products must be built, packaged, shipped around the world, unpackaged, assembled into a pack, repackaged and shipped again.

Khobi Brooklyn, a Tesla spokeswoman, confirmed that the Senate briefing occurred but didn’t provide further comment.

That’s especially important as Tesla positions itself, for the first time, as a carmaker for the masses – which means it needs to be prepared for mass-market production numbers.

After Musk failed to lay out a budget for his latest strategy, revealed last week, businesses analysts reportedly found it is likely Tesla will have to go back to investors for more capital to fund the plan, despite raising about $1.7 billion with a sale of shares in May.

Musk acknowledged Tuesday that batteries are the “biggest constraint” for the company’s current and future cars.

The “gigafactory” will help make that possible. Buying at Gigafactory scale lowers the procurement costs of raw materials such as lithium.

And it wants to do that sooner than previously expected. Musk left open the possibility of selling storage to other solar companies, provided they meet Tesla’s standards.

Musk has grand plans for the company. The Model S sedan and Model X SUV use the third generation of the EyeQ chip platform.

“Honestly, I look forward to seeing more cars with Autopilot on the road because now it’s obvious to me how much people wander around”.

“Considering that he is moving much more beyond transportation, this “gigafactory” and the batteries it produces is the linchpin for everything else”, said Edmunds.com’s Caldwell.

He added that the company is working on a truck, the Tesla Semi, which would cut the cost of cargo transport. Gigafactory is now assembling the batteries needed by Tesla Powerwall, a solar energy storage subsidiary that will make large batteries for home and business use.

With the proposed acquisition of SolarCity by Tesla, Musk said Tesla batteries would be used in conjunction with SolarCity power systems. The plant is already operational and has begun manufacturing batteries. The company expects to churn batteries out of the factory later this year, in time for the production of the Model 3.

“There’s nothing unexpected here from our standpoint”, said Musk. Tesla acquired two permits valued at $16.2 million. If the Model 3 is delayed, for example, or customers’ deposits don’t turn into actual sales, Tesla will have extra batteries on its hands and no way to recoup its costs.