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  • It's one of the most famous car factories in the world.

  • At Tesla's manufacturing plant in Fremont, California - rolled-up aluminum transforms into fully assembled cars in just 48 hours.

  • The vehicles begin to take shape in the stamping center where the metal sheets are unrolled and cut so they can be turned into

  • doors, hoods, trunks, and other parts.

  • The machine that presses them into various forms operates with extreme precision. Look at how the robot arm narrowly escapes being crushed.

  • The parts are then placed on a conveyor belt in video provided by CleanTechnica.

  • Workers inspect every component - in this case, side panels - before sending them off for storage inside a massive warehouse.

  • Next stop is the body shop -

  • where robots weld them together to form the car's skeleton.

  • 5,000 welds are required for the Model 3, Tesla's first affordable vehicle.

  • The body line is far more automated than those being used to make the Model S or the Model X.

  • Unlike those two vehicles, the Model 3 is meant to be manufactured on a mass scale as it attracts a broader clientele.

  • Tesla's methods of production can change on the fly. A few years ago, when the company struggled to build cars quickly,

  • it determined that some 300 welds were not necessary and reprogrammed the robots to eliminate them to save time.

  • Time is precious when you plan to produce 20 million cars a year by 2030.

  • After the welding is complete, the cars head off to get painted.

  • The electric car company uploaded this video - a humorous video - of a paint applicator that resembles a cow's udder.

  • Next comes the main attraction: the general assembly.

  • All of the major components of the vehicle including the battery pack are joined together - known as a “marriage”.

  • Marriage is the hardest part.

  • As the saying goes: If you're going through hell, keep going.

  • Elon Musk described the entire assembly process asproduction hell” a few years ago when Tesla struggled to build its cars fast enough.

  • It even set up an additional assembly line under a big white tent in the factory's parking lot to push out more Model 3s.

  • Bigdoesn't properly describe the size of the tent. It was larger than two football fields.

  • Tesla blamed the delays on bottlenecks in the Gigafactory in Nevada where it makes its batteries.

  • But in an interview with CBS's Gayle King, Musk explained there were also issues here at Fremont.

  • Elon, part of the thing I heard about the Model 3 is that there's too many robots. That maybe...yah, yah, I agree. You think so, too? Yah.

  • That maybe you need more people in here working. We do. In some cases, the robots actually slowed the production. Yes, they did.

  • We had this crazy, complex network of conveyor belts and it was not working, so we got rid of that whole thing.

  • Musk spent a lot of time in the factory, including sleeping there overnight to try to solve the problems. I talked about his work ethic in my previous video.

  • Tesla managed to pull through that difficult period by striking a better balance between the number of robots it uses and the number of human hands that help.

  • A good example of that balance is a few blocks from the main factory where Tesla makes seats.

  • Fine fingers are essential in the production of car seats.

  • Pulling the synthetic material over the foam of a chair, making it fit properly, stretching it out, getting rid of the wrinkles.

  • Most automakers outsource seat-making and Tesla used to do the same.

  • But when a contractor had trouble building seats for the Model X, Tesla decided to move that entire operation in-house.

  • Machines do have a big role to play as well, especially when the seats are ready for final assembly. Even here Tesla is focused on saving time.

  • This tube feed bolts to the robots so they don't have to physically pick them up.

  • An airgun shoots them through the vacuum tube as illustrated by CleanTechnica and shaves off about a second or so.

  • Every second counts.

  • Once the seats are ready, they're fitted into the car.

  • And after the Teslas receive their wheels and tires, they roll off the assembly line.

  • Designing one of the most advanced and efficient automotive factories in the world is insanely difficult.

  • And now - Tesla is replicating it in its factories in Berlin and Shanghai.

  • Inevitably helping to bring an end to fossil fuel vehicles.

  • The world is certainly moving in that direction.

  • At the same time, another aspect of our world is changing.

  • More people are working from home and protecting your data online is as crucial as ever.

  • Did you know that not all websites use https? The s stands for secure.

  • If you're visiting a site without itthe data you send and receive could be stolen by cybercriminals or other third parties.

  • Same goes for using some mobile apps.

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  • Like the time I was able to buy a bottle of Tesla Tequila even though it's region-locked to the US.

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  • Thanks so much for watching. I'm Cindy Pom.

  • If you like what you saw, don't forget to give it a like and subscribe to my channel.

  • Thank you very much to my Patrons for your support, it means a lot.

  • See you next week.

It's one of the most famous car factories in the world.

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