Tesla to Expand to Livermore

By BEA KARNES (Patch Staff)

LIVERMORE, CA: Tesla is increasing the manufacturing capacity of its Fremont assembly facility by moving Research and Development, warehousing and other operations off site to Livermore.

Some of those jobs will stay in Fremont, while others will head up I-680 to the Tri-Valley.

Kelly Kline, Economic Development Director and Chief Innovation Officer for the City of Fremont, told Patch, “The supply of industrial warehouse space in the greater Bay Area is at a record low supply. And while Fremont has been able to accommodate over a million square feet of additional R&D space outside of the factory, the larger industrial ecosystem will be vital to Tesla's ability to ramp up production on a larger scale.

“Our region's tremendous success in Advanced Industries, and the related supply chain spin-off, is creating unprecedented demand for flexible space that is boosting building occupancy rates across the board.”

Tesla needs all the space it can muster. When the Palo Alto-based company began taking orders for the new Model 3 last month, pre-orders that include a $1,000 deposit quickly blew past 400,000, far exceeding expectations.

Related:

• Tesla Model 3 Unveiled As Fremont Plant Prepares For Orders
• Fremont Company Adds 2,500 Jobs--in Sacramento Area

That gives Tesla until the end of next year to figure out the daunting logistics of having the parts manufactured, storing the parts, getting them to the Fremont plant for assembly and getting the finished product to buyers.

Tesla has leased more than 1 million square feet of warehouse space in Livermore’s new Oaks Logistics Center, the Silicon Valley Business Journal reports.

The City of Livermore declined comment for this report.

For the City of Fremont, the Tesla warehouse move is another missed opportunity. In March, NRC Manufacturing announced that it was expanding to the Sacramento area.

Also See:

• Grandma Freaks Out at Wheel of Self-Driving Tesla (Video)
• Tesla Recalls Model X Vehicles
• Tesla Has Hundreds of Job Openings in Fremont

Photo courtesy Renee Schiavone