Tesla Invests In Robots To Increase Production

Tesla Motors Inc TSLA announced Monday on its corporate blog a major upgrade to its factory in Fremont, California.

The upgrades will allow the manufacturer to increase production while using more robots for the most labor-intensive work.

According to the company, 10 of the “largest robots in the world” were installed which “can lift and maneuver entire cars with optimum precision while taking up less room.”

The “new robots will even be able to install battery packs in the cars, relieving humans of the most labor-intensive operation in the factory and reducing installation time from four to two minutes,” according to Tesla.

In total, the upgrades “added capacity to the body shop, enhanced powertrain assembly, and revamped facilities” for employees.

“In the powertrain department, we’ve added conveyors and advanced robots that have given us the capacity to process 1 million battery cells per day, up from 800,000. In body-in-white, we’ve added new welding equipment and improved our production uptime by 5 to 10 percent, thanks in part to a 13-car buffer that guards against bottlenecks. We’ve also added 24 new tire and export docks to the perimeter of the main building, increasing the speed with which we can deliver cars overseas,” according to the blog.

The company produced over 22,000 cars in 2013 and forecasted 35,000 for 2014. It plans to increase production by 50 percent for 2015.

Tesla Motors closed Monday at $253.98, down 1.82 percent.