Tesla’s giant stamping machine, believed to be the world’s biggest, caught on fire at Fremont factory today.
No one was injured, but the incident is likely to affect production.
We previously reported that Tesla is now producing the Model Y with one giant rear underbody that used to be made of 70 parts.
That’s possible due to Tesla’s first Giga Press, which was installed at the Fremont factory and put in operation last year. The machine, nicknamed Giga Press, is the first of its kind and is produced by Idra Group in Italy. It has a clamping force of 55,000 to 61,000 kilonewtons (5,600 to 6,200 tf).
Tesla has introduced another of those massive machines at the Fremont, California-based factory in September.
To the surprise of some, Tesla built the machines outside the factory with new roof structures just for the machines.
One of those giant stamping machines at the Fremont factory caught on fire today, according to the local fire department.
The Fremont fire department wrote in a statement released this evening:
“Fremont firefighters responded to a working fire at the Tesla Factory (45500 Fremont Blvd) at 4:27 PM.
Located in an area of the factory property that is under construction, the deep-seated fire was contained to a vehicle manufacturing stamping machine.”
They determined that the cause was “molten aluminum and hydraulic fluid.”
No injury was reported and the fire was under control rather quickly, but the giga press was seen smoldering over an hour after the fire started.
The incident is likely to be affecting production, but it’s unclear to what degree at this point.
Again, the machines were known to be producing parts for Model Y vehicles produced at the factory.
Tesla recently shut down the Fremont factory for a few days due to part supply issues.
While the stamping presses are nothing but a small part of Tesla’s operations at the factory, if only one part is not available, the vehicles are not being produced.
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