Our club member, Colt Yohman, had the opportunity to attend the Tesla Cyber Rodo on April 7th, 2022. Below is a story about his experience.
Total Miles – 3358
Total Energy – 950 kWh
Avg. Energy – 283 Wh/mi
Total Supercharger costs – $267.12
Experiencing Giga Texas and the Cyber Rodeo in person – Priceless!
It’s one thing to see the various pictures, videos, and descriptions of Elon Musk and Tesla’s latest GigaFactory, but it is TRULY another to experience it in person. The sheer size and scale of this machine is awe-inspiring. When it takes nearly 1 minute traveling at 70mph to travel from end to end you know you’re dealing with something you’ve never seen before!
I’d like to preface that I have previously worked in the auto manufacturing industry for over 5 years so I am well familiar with the general design layout and workflow of how a vehicle gets assembled.
Upon entering, you step foot into where the Stamping/Body Shop is located. From there, Tesla shows off the various advancements they have made in the Manufacturing processes in regards to the castings, dyes, and presses. When Tesla mentions their state of the art casting process and the consolidation of the numerous pieces and welds down to one single piece, thus cutting down almost 60% of the overall manufacturing time, it is a marvel to see firsthand.
Another general observation I made while touring the factory was that they let you see A LOT of the processes up close and first-hand. Again, with an automotive background, I’m familiar with Plant Tours; typically it’s a tightly roped off tour that shows maybe a machine or two in action and then you’re onto the next area of the plant. With Tesla, it was much much different. We were able to virtually walk around all of the General Assembly area (where the interior/exterior pieces are assembled, as well the marriage of the body to the battery/chassis) even being able to walk right up to their production lines and see parts in process. Very cool!
As you can see here of the door panel prior to being installed on the car, they were on VIN #1249, neat to see up close!
From there, you head outside where they have various entertainment and food vendors on site, they even had an artist that was painting the side of a Tesla Semi. WILD!! It was rumored that Tesla spent upwards of $50 MILLION dollars for this event and in walking throughout it was apparent – they spared no expense!
From there you can then head upstairs to the 3rd floor where they had early Tesla prototypes on display as well as the upcoming Roadster and Cybertruck. Again, pictures and videos are one thing, seeing these beauties in real life is something else! I guarantee once these hit the road, there will be accidents due to people not paying attention to the road and staring at these impressive machines. Even Optimus, the Tesla Bot, was on display as well!
And finally, onto the Main Event, the Elon Musk presentation. The livestream captured everything shown, but having the crowd there was something straight out of a concert! Still gives me chills watching it back even today! Haha
It was truly a wonderful experience and I am very thankful that I was able to take time off of work with my wife and make a road trip/vacation out of it. It is definitely something I will remember for many years to come!
Colt Yohman
