Image: Screenshot from Jeff Roberts’s Video on YouTube
Jeff Roberts on YouTube has been faithfully delivering aerial construction updates for Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, and he’s brought us yet another update for Oct. 17. This update is unlike any other, however — it showcases the very first structure to be erected on the 2,481 acre site.
Compared to as recently as last week, the progress made on the site is clearly visible in the form of both the structure that has been built, and the trenching going on around it.
Built on day 87 of construction, the steel structure doesn’t seem like it’s a part of any of the buildings or larger structures outlined in the building plans for the site. YouTube user @Tallrs suggests that the structure is merely a placeholder to test the foundations of the project and the footings the buildings will ultimately be built on, which does line up with standard procedures in the construction industry.
Shot in 4K using an iPhone 11 Pro Max coupled with a DJI Mavic Air 2 drone, the video also gives us an in-depth look at the additional 381 acres of land Tesla purchased after construction began and how work on that parcel is coming along.
If this initial test of the foundations and construction footings goes well, Gigafactory Austin should be well on its way to achieving dry-in and having fully erected buildings by year’s end.
