The Tesla Model 3 is shipping out at high speed. On Tuesday, CEO Elon Musk shared an impressive 45-second timelapse that shows the incredible progress the company is making to get its $35,000 electric vehicle out to consumers as fast as possible — complete with a quote from one of Musk’s best-loved sci-fi novels.
The video shows the outbound logistics lot at the Fremont, California plant on the week of June 24th. The plant has become the focal point of Tesla’s efforts to expand production of its cheapest ever car ever since it entered manufacturing 12 months ago. Musk recently revealed that the company managed to produce 7,000 vehicles in just seven days at the end of last month, a rapid expansion from the 2,000 per week it produced at the start of April. Musk shared the video with the caption “The Spice Flows,” a reference to 1965 novel Dune.
Tesla has been working hard to get the Model 3 out to consumers. It’s built a tent over the space of two weeks dubbed “General Assembly 4,” while the company tells Inverse its state-of-the-art third assembly line uses an in-house alignment system that the company claims is more advanced than other automakers.
Musk has a habit of peppering sci-fi references into Tesla’s materials. Recent vehicles include a “Ludicrous Mode” that activates a performance-focused set of configurations, a reference to ‘80s comedy spoof Spaceballs. The second-generation Roadster, set to hit the roads in 2020, contains a “Plaid Mode,” a reference to the same film, that serves as a step above “Ludicrous.”
All eyes are on Tesla’s next shipping report, where it will reveal whether it can sustain the momentum from this rapid expansion in production. Musk teased last month that the next report will “explode” the position of Wall Street short sellers.
Expansion is just one step on Musk’s journey to claim a reward package worth a staggering $2.6 billion.
