Tunnel Terracing, Cooling Plant Grade & Switchyard Concrete! 20 Sep 2024 Giga Texas Update (09:35AM)

Gigafactory Texas! This is where Model Y’s, and Cyber Truck production happens and soon, the Next Generation Car!
Late flight today because I also went to Aalo Atomic to interview the CEO ahead of the grand opening coming up early next week. Because of this, the images and video is going to be coming out later in the day today. Notwithstanding, there was a lot of great progress around the site today and much to talk about in the video.
In the introduction, I talked about the protocol for flag display and how Tesla has chosen the correct orientation and sequencing based on a viewer looking at the factory. With three equal height flagpoles, it is correct to have the US Flag on the left, the Texas flag in the center and the organizational (Tesla) flag on the right. I went through this discussion because of the volume of comments I was receiving from viewers thinking the US flag should be in the center. I truly hope this helps.
I also talk about the announcement that X Corp has officially moved it's headquarters to Bastrop, Texas and the site of the new structure next to the Boring Company facility and the SpaceX Starlink facility. In addition to Giga Texas and the Tesla headquarters nearby, and the Neuralink Campus about halfway in-between, most of Elon Musk's companies are headquartered within a 15-mile radius in this part of Texas.
Timestamps:
Drone flight overview with discussion & illustration: 0:06 to 5:51
Drone flight footage & infographics: 6:12 to 32:45
A few highlights in the images and video to look for include:
The south end tunnels are now getting dirt placed on top of the moisture barrier installed on the concrete roof, and additional fill dirt on top of geotextile membranes. This is possibly an indication a driveway along the south end is planned and it might be for emergency vehicles. On the second tire of the terraced graded area, it appears this will be for walkways and on the bottom tire, part of a overflow area for the Cyberpond, in case it were to overflow during heavy rains.
The cooling plant on the southeast side is getting a new and growing cleared section of graded area just to the north. This might be for another concrete apron that will connect the existing apron around the east side of the stamping section and between the extension and cooling plant.
Finally, at the electrical switchyard, more rebar is being prepared by crews for the catch basin. On my previous video we saw the concrete being poured in the bottom of the catch basin and now the central slab that will support the 3rd transformer is being prepared for added concrete.
Thank you for watching and I hope this has been informative, educational, and entertaining for you. If you would like, please consider supporting me via Patreon (link is in the description of this video and in the video itself) so I can continue to make and share these incredible videos.
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Be sure to check out additional Texas Gigafactory footage on these channels:
@Jeff Roberts
@Brad Sloan
Video, photos, illustrations, and commentary on this video is by me, Joe Tegtmeyer unless otherwise annotated.
Music in this video is obtained from the KZbin free and unrestricted and royalty-free use library. Ending song is Mr. Sunny Face - Wayne Jones
Drones used are DJI Mini 2, Mavic Air 2 & Air 3.
Drone flight over Giga Texas is with permission of Tesla and CEO Elon Musk

[@gtbproductions1]

Thanks for clearing this up regarding the flags. 👍

[@DonD532]

Just a small note; there are actually 84 transformers in the material storage lot across from the outbound lot.

[@texan-american200]

Those flags are downright awe inspiring.😊

[@stephenreese5921]

Thank you, Joe for the clarification about the flags!😊

[@alanrivaldo-h]

6:42 - Joe, great flight on Friday! Starting the video providing a rare perspective and a great view of the natural features while forcing me to reorient myself. The later flight time really illuminated the scene and seemed to make the view of everything clearer. Today's flight was a masterstroke.

[@Riverdancer2.0]

This build site (to say nothing of the cars it produces) has been exciting pretty much every day since day 1

[@budgetaudiophilelife-long5461]

🙋‍♂️THX JOE FOR UPDATES. 🤗💚💚💚

[@budgetaudiophilelife-long5461]

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT WEEKEND 🤗

[@DessieDoolan]

Thanks Joe *Sort by Newest First or Top Comments if only the first few lines are visible* 4:51. New Switchyard/Substation. 3rd transformer footing. Initial slab concrete placed. Shuttering for the main footing pad, not the catch basin. To the right, red marked locations for drilled pile shafts. Bottom right. Assembling a ground beam rebar cage. Might be a different design to the initial pair of transformer footings. See Joe’s 2 November 2022 video at 19.33. 11:09. Southend, east. Centre. Excavator behind the stair loading the dump truck. 12:03. River Road south. Electrical vaults open further west. Might finally be the completion of the powerline underground relocation project. Another 2 year project. I made an almost identical comment in October 2022. 12:22. Southend, south. East and Centre Fire Escape Passage. Layer of earth over the roof may provide a buffer between the gravel road substrate and the waterprrof membrane. Or it’s simply more economical fill. 16:50. Westside, triangular storage. Stacks of beams………no columns. Even a wildly speculative covered parking lot with solar panels needs columns. 17:48. EOL, north pond. Bottom left. Flow spreader structure. Placing a layer of rip-rap on the outfall side. 19:33. EOL, north pond. Bottom left. Outflow weir. Backfilled around on 3 sides. 21:42. New Switchyard/Substation. Centre. Stack of pile rebar cages against the fence. 22:04. New Switchyard/Substation. Constructing the main footing. Catch basin will be around the perimeter. 24:35. Casting, Baghouse. Upper left. Much larger diameter pipe installed. 24:52. Casting, Baghouse. Box like delivery. May fit on top of one of the speculative heat-exhangers at bottom centre. 6 stubby columns there to support 2 square items. 27:44. Battery, roof. Bottom right. Crates of aluminum/aluminium damper assemblies. 29:05. Tesla Road. White and teal coloured production equipment. Hopper, cyclonic separator, duct, cabinets.

[@DavidJohnson-tv2nn]

12:03 I wish you were right. It would be nice to place those lines undergrounds. But.... Notice the 6 new power poles laying on the ground? And the pole drill rig? Seems like things are going in the wrong direction.

[@CJ-mg7kt]

Thank you

[@DessieDoolan]

@@CJ-mg7kt You're welcome.

[@WarrenLacefield]

12:03. I'm not sure. That has sure been a long time coming. I thought those telephone pole power lines were to be removed. (Ha, Joe never liked those, I recall.) But maybe they are putting even more in.

[@DessieDoolan]

@@WarrenLacefield 12:03. I'm not sure either. The vaults are open though. The works would be by Bluebonnet, and there may be some sequence of works that isn't obvious yet.

[@MikeCasey311]

Joe, love your channel. Minor correction, that isn’t THE Colorado river, it is A Colorado river. THE Colorado river flows through the Grand Canyon. All the best from Denver Colorado. 🇺🇸

[@DavidJohnson-tv2nn]

Thanks Joe! Substation expansion: @ 21:49 (Bottom) Substation east bay.... Dismantling of the existing 345 kV busbar structure. Note the 3 empty concrete bases. The 345 kV switches to the left (south) are also open. Joe... If possible can we get a view a little further north? My guess is there will be more open switches and more of the structure being taken apart. @ 21:58 Circles marked in red indicate drill points for concrete piles. And of course, the work on the transformer pad.

[@DessieDoolan]

21:49. Good spot.

[@DavidJohnson-tv2nn]

@@DessieDoolan Thanks! It was something I was looking for. If you notice, that is the spot they will likely pour a concrete pad for a set of 345 kV circuit breakers, like the ones just to the west. That may be the rebar for the pad in the corner by the fence?

[@WarrenLacefield]

@@DavidJohnson-tv2nn Yes, I saw that too. Exciting ... well, literally electrifying!

[@barefootID]

In this building the most American-made car is made. No need to understand the right order to see the flags: America comes first.

[@jbil76]

Could those large transformers maybe be for Megacharges, in preparation for starting to use the Semi at Giga Texas?

[@WarrenLacefield]

Honestly I doubt that - because there are just too many of those transformers. My own guess is another Megapack to backup the 34.5KV substation transformer, maybe located at the old temporary substation or perhaps much closer to the supercomputer. I'd think it a waste of space to put those inside the factory anywhere. For the smaller (but larger looking batch), they may be for solar, perhaps for Superchargers, but still they seem too many for what Tesla night need there. Now I wonder how many loaded trucks actually arrive at the factory every day? Could be they would need every one. That might require more solar - on top of the plant or out in some old parking lot. There is plenty of space, but hopefully for more factory someday.

[@jbil76]

@WarrenLacefield There is a lot of lorry activity on the site. Maybe that number are needed.

[@benguthrie49]

Thanks Joe

[@jadefinchscene5644]

i was curious about the order of the flags. i am not one who is going to lose sleep over what the "rules" are or if they are being followed. but i was curious. thank you for going over it.

[@guccisasha]

Ty Sir.

[@WarrenLacefield]

An odd question: Why do we never see anything material moving out of (and going into, as well) the Cathode Building? Occasionally we do see dies or die rigs around the Die Shop. Along the same line, we don't see lithium or aluminum going into the Battery area, like we do see aluminum ingots for the Casting area. Maybe those materials are just transported by regular semi-trucks to docking bays?

[@alanrivaldo-h]

Maybe the cathode building isn't in production yet, and still in the piloting stage? Maybe the lithium and cans for the batteries are delivered overnight?

[@DessieDoolan]

@@alanrivaldo-h The cans come in as rolls of flat sheet. There's a canning line/s inside. There is also a series of internal loading docks on the west side of Battery that we rarely see into. 8 or more at 27:11.

[@texmexbbq7085]

Flags look awesome

[@lukeknowles5700]

Maybe you could take the drone inside the far east section of the parking garage and get a scoop on the upcoming 10/10 reveal.

[@rachellynn1507]

What's the dimensions of the flags❓️

[@mwolrich]

Elons companies are often called “The Muskconomy” 😂👍😬

[@alanrivaldo-h]

6 * 14 = 84. There are 84 of those new transformers.

[@nanaimoshoerepair]

Hey Joe Have you had a chance to test out the floatability of your Cyber truck yet?

[@fredschuman8495]

when did the rooftop solar panels get laid flat?

[@lourdessilva6442]

Sem palavras esse documentário conhecimento essa marca es nossa favorita e seus produtos são verdadeiros sonhos de consumo de todos já grata em poder assistir

[@Richard-h1z]

Castings for model 2,where are going to put them?

[@alanrivaldo-h]

I think the 10/10 event is just a prototype reveal. If so, the Model 2 / Robotaxi is still a year or two away from production. Plenty of time for the site to look quite different... yet again.

[@tweetybird7668]

I’ve wrote specifications for a 1 million, 200,000 and 100,000 sq ft building and for emergency vehicles there is a building code that requires fire department access roads to be within 50 ft of a building's exterior door and within 150 ft of all exterior first-story portions. This is outlined in the NFPA 1, Fire Code, Chapter 18. If the building is sprinklered, the 150 ft distance increases to 450 ft. And there needs to be an emergency exit man door. A typical maximum distance would be 150 to 200 feet per NFPA 101 (which OSHA has incorporated), depending on whether the facility has overhead sprinklers. However, the distance could be as short as 75 feet where flammable materials are stored, such as combustible liquids stored according to NFPA 30. So let me see, how many violations do we see in this video?

[@JoeTegtmeyer]

@@tweetybird7668 written

[@tweetybird7668]

Joe, we might be citing the owner (Elon) for lack of exterior emergency exits which would require exterior stair wells to be installed both to the 2nd and 3rd floors.

[@tweetybird7668]

@@JoeTegtmeyerwrote, I’m an Engineer

[@DessieDoolan]

@@tweetybird7668 Stairwells are located at the north end of the 3 passages. Building is sprinklered.

[@ourv9603]

What the hell is going to go on inside the new extension that 3 escape tunnels are required? The rest of the building does not have any escape tunnels. Most strange. !

[@DavidJohnson-tv2nn]

The rest of the building has exit doors. For architectural reasons they chose not to put doors in their exterior glass curtain wall. Therefore to meet code they need the tunnels.

[@mwolrich]

@@DavidJohnson-tv2nngood to know, I thought it was because when the Cortex becomes self-aware, the people need to leave quick 🙄

[@tompava3923]

Pride goeth before a fall.

[@MrVaticanRag]

I appreciate your consistent podcasts. As a retired ASNT iii QA Conformance/Compliance engineer, I am curious about the two types of externally stacking the castings. Is it possible those not in stacking frames may have failed their NDT examination and are destined for recycling? Are you aware of the giga presses unsuccessful visual inspection rate, (ie rejected without need for NDT) and the NDT sucessful NDT inspection rate?

[@alanrivaldo-h]

If the castings had failed inspection, they would be just piled up, and not placed so neatly in rows to avoid touching one another. The castings are being staged for use in production.

[@MrVaticanRag]

@@alanrivaldo-h How sure can you be of your statement? Can you also confirm successful NDT rates?

[@alanrivaldo-h]

@@MrVaticanRag I've been watching the videos long enough where I, and everyone else, would have seen piles of scrapped castings that were eventually hauled away or going back into the factory for recycling. Why would the folks who are moving the castings go to such great lengths to find nooks and crannies all over the site to place so many rejected parts in such an orderly fashion if they were just going to be melted down?

[@MrVaticanRag]

@@alanrivaldo-h Why would they stack rejects neatly? To prevent contamination of the recycling product maybe? So what's more the point, what's your estimated rejection rate or is this kept secret?

[@alanrivaldo-h]

⁠​⁠@@MrVaticanRagSo to avoid contamination of the rejected parts they put them on the dirt, exposed to the elements, so that when it rains they'll get muddy? They're obviously not rejected parts! 🙄

[@TeslaElonSpaceXFan]

❤

[@rockheadregolith8325]

Oorah!

[@lukeknowles5700]

Why would people bother you with their concerns about flag positions?? Shame on them. Anyone can go to Grok and find out the federal flag laws in a jiffy.

[@alanrivaldo-h]

Welcome to the Internet where people complain, argue, and troll... instead of just using the exact same tool already in front of their eyes to just look up the answers themselves.

[@Sophia-i1d9z]

🎉🎉🎉🎉 to all my business,,,,,🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲,,,,ito my workers 😇😇😇🌺🌺🍻🍻🍻🍻

[@jamesbruce1183]

RE flags: you could have said that the American flagpole is set so the American flag is one inch higher than the others. No one would question it and everyone would be happy.

[@alanrivaldo-h]

Dessie has a keen eye so he would notice that they were the same height, and then prove he was right by measuring them from the video. 😂 He's also impartial because he's not from the States.

[@lukeknowles5700]

The Aalo operation will be great. Unleashing more nuclear power which is safe will be a much better source for clean energy than windmills or solar for energy going forward.

[@eugeneoropa2050]

3rd Joe

[@gtbproductions1]

As a lifelong residence of SoCal, (Northern San Diego County) I am glad to see another company leave this horrible tax heavy state for greener pastures. I wish more would stick it to loser newsom and leave.

[@seekerstan]

😅while on the subject of the flag code: One of the biggest no nos is to deface the flag with someone's name or photo, as a certain self agrandizing politician has been known to do. But the rules don't apply to him because he thinks he's special.

[@alanrivaldo-h]

@@seekerstan Well, doesn't hugging and kissing the US flag make up for that? 😂