Tesla is now listing a new manufacturing process job at Gigafactory Nevada for the Tesla Semi, the automaker’s upcoming electric semi truck.
Tesla Semi
When launching Tesla Semi in 2017, the automaker said that the production versions of Tesla Semi, which are class 8 trucks with 80,000-lb capacities, will have 300-mile and 500-mile range options for $150,000 and $180,000, respectively.
However, CEO Elon Musk said that they found opportunities to extend that range during testing.
A year later, Musk said that the Tesla Semi production version will have closer to 600 miles of range.
After a few delays, Tesla talked about “low-volume production in late 2020, but the timeline was later pushed to 2021.
Earlier this year, Musk told employees in an email obtained by Electrek that “it’s time to bring Tesla Semi to volume production” without updating the timeline.
This summer, the CEO said that the Tesla Semi would be produced at Gigafactory Texas in Austin.
Tesla Semi Production Job in Nevada
Considering that Musk said that the semi truck would be produced in Texas, it raised a few eyebrows when Tesla added a new role on its website this week for a manufacturing process engineer at Gigafactory Nevada for the Tesla Semi program:
Earlier this year, we reported that Tesla took over a giant new building near Gigafactory Nevada and a source told us that it would be used in relation to Tesla Semi production.
It doesn’t mean that Tesla doesn’t plan to produce the electric truck in Texas, but the automaker could be working on some manufacturing processes for Tesla Semi in Nevada.
Tesla writes in the job description:
“A process engineer will implement, develop, and optimize production methodologies in the manufacturing operations of Tesla. This engineer will be responsible for optimizing product flow though the factory though process optimization that may include tool /fixture selection, line layouts, ergonomic study, material presentation, and other relevant factors. He/She will interface with design, test, and quality engineering to solve problems, improve manufacturability, and implement continual improvement. He/She will sustain products with cost reduction and yield improvements. In addition, the process engineer will work with quality to compile and evaluate data to determine appropriate limits and variables for process or material specifications.”
More specifically, Tesla notes that the new hire will work on a production that will “help define” how Tesla’s semi trucks will be made:
“This production line will help define how Semis are manufactured in Tesla. As such this will require a great deal of hands-on development and troubleshooting and flexibility.”
This seems to confirm that Tesla is setting up a pilot production line for Tesla Semi at Gigafactory Nevada.
Jerome Guillen, Tesla’s President of Automotive and the head of the Tesla Semi program, recently hinted that Tesla would use new prototype semi trucks on the route between Gigafactory Nevada and Fremont factories.
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Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
