Documents and presentations about Tesla’s facilities on Kato Road, near the Fremont Factory, suggest that the electric car maker is trying to scale up its operations at the site, which is rumored to be an in-house research and manufacturing facility for batteries. The project, dubbed “Roadrunner,” is expected to begin producing Tesla-created battery cells for Tesla vehicles. And in a way, such a project could pave the way for the launch of the company’s next flagship sedan – the Model S Plaid.
The company’s recent submissions to the city of Fremont indicate that Tesla has a “small-scale” battery manufacturing operation in the city. That said, the company is now planning to increase its operations, with workers increasing to 470 people in total, 400 of whom “work shift work, so that there are 100 employees working in manufacturing and production operations at any time, all day, every day. “
Details of the Roadrunner project have not been released by Tesla, though expectations are high that it would play a role in the upcoming Battery Day event, which is scheduled for September. Like the Kato Road facility, official details on Battery Day are pretty sparse, though speculation suggests that Tesla would be discussing the development of its next-generation cells, the million-mile battery.
The implications for the million-mile battery are numerous, from electric vehicles that could last longer than their internal combustion counterparts to battery storage systems that could last for literal decades. But aside from these advantages, better batteries could also help electric vehicles take advantage of even higher levels of performance. Fortunately, Tesla actually has a vehicle aligned with that goal in mind. He was even sent to the Nurburgring last year, where he set unofficial records before being brought home to the United States.
This vehicle is the Tesla Model S Plaid. The Plaid Model S, according to Elon Musk, is equipped with three electric motors that will allow the vehicle to perform even better than the already impressive Raven Model S Performance that is available today. What is particularly interesting is that neither Tesla nor Musk have spoken about the S Plaid model’s battery. Speculation from the Tesla community suggests that the upcoming variant of the flagship sedan could be the first perfect vehicle to carry the company’s next generation of batteries.
In a way, it would be almost poetic. The Model S is the vehicle that represents the point where Tesla stepped forward as a legitimate automaker. It is also the car that put Tesla on the auto industry map, and the vehicle won multiple awards during his tenure. So it wouldn’t be surprising if Tesla launches its next-gen batteries at the pinnacle of the Model S as well.
Such a project would also be a good combination, considering that the Kato Road facility is just a pilot battery cell production line, and therefore likely to only support a limited number of vehicles per year. Furthermore, Elon Musk also suggested that the Plaid Model S ‘was ready for a launch in 2020, practically making it perfect for the company’s project Roadrunner ramp.
