Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk is scheduled to be in Nevada to see the factory and address dozens of tech and automotive reporters clamoring for details on the project, a partnership with Panasonic Corp.
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The government did not comment specifically on the autopilot software.
Musk seemed unwilling to let such speed bumps slow him down.
Yesterday, Musk said because the plan will roll out over a number of years, it could be mostly funded from sales of vehicles, particularly the Model 3 sedan due to launch in 2017.
Musk said that once at full production, he expects the Model 3 to generate around $20 billion in revenue per year for Tesla with $5 billion in gross profit (or 25% gross margin).
“I think it’s quite romantic, actually”, he said.
Although the Tesla autopilot system, which takes control of braking and steering in certain circumstances, is less sophisticated than what is envisioned for autonomous cars, its failure was linked to more complex systems of the future. During a media event today, executives from the Bay Area automotive and energy company are offering a look into progress at its $5 billion Gigafactory ahead of a grand opening this week. One gigawatt hour is the equivalent of generating one billion watts for one hour_one million times that of one kilowatt hour.
Tesla will release its second quarter results August 3. Analysts will be looking for signs that the company is containing its costs and slowing its cash burn.
NHTSA has also opened up an investigation into the incident, as well as another, non-fatal crash in Pennsylvania involving a Tesla vehicle using Autopilot. By bringing all of Tesla’s battery production under one roof, and at such a large scale, Musk said Tesla would be able to meet customer demand for the Model 3 and its other vehicles.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report Tuesday that the Tesla was traveling at 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour in a zone where the limit was 65 miles per hour. Raw material will be fed into one end, battery cells will be manufactured, then assembled into modules and formed into battery packs.
The NTSB report said that after the Tesla Model S passed under the trailer, it continued for nearly 100 yards before striking a utility pole. Tesla said earlier in July production, which also fell short of targets in the second quarter, is now averaging about 2,000 vehicles a week.
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That’s still about half the rate of a conventional auto assembly plant.
