--- title: "Huge Assembly Line Machine Catches on Fire at Tesla Factory" description: "Tesla's massive stamping machine, perhaps one of the largest of its kind, caught on fire at the company's factory in Fremont, California." date: "2021-03-12" modified: "2021-03-12" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/huge-assembly-line-machine-catches-fire-tesla-factory" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "california" - "elon musk" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Huge Assembly Line Machine Catches on Fire at Tesla Factory ![Tesla's massive stamping machine, perhaps one of the largest of its kind, caught on fire at the company's factory in Fremont, California.]() *\Image: Fremont FD\* ## Expect Delays Bad news for Tesla: the carmaker's massive metal stamping machine, perhaps the largest machine of its kind in the world [according to *Electrek*](), caught on fire yesterday at the company's factory in Fremont, California. The incident is almost certain to slow down production of the Model Y, a vehicle that features one massive piece, rather than 70 different ones, acting as a rear underbody. The machine, dubbed the Giga Press, is capable of stamping those enormous pieces of aluminum with a clamping force of 55,000 to 61,000 kilonewtons, the equivalent of roughly 6,000 tons of force. https://twitter.com/KTVU/status/1370176856364699648 ## Hydraulic Fluid A [picture uploaded to Instagram]() by the Fremont police department shows dark smoke billowing from the factory's roof. "Located in an area of the factory property that is under construction, the deep-seated fire was contained to a vehicle manufacturing stamping machine," the caption reads. "The cause of the fire is molten aluminum and hydraulic fluid," the police department wrote. "Hydraulic fluid was identified as the source of the fire." ## Setback It's bound to be a setback for the electric carmaker. It's also not the first piece of machinery to give the company trouble. In 2018, Tesla CEO Elon [Musk said]() that "we went too far in the automation front and automated some pretty silly things," complaining about robots that were overcomplicating the manufacturing process. **READ MORE:** [Tesla’s giant stamping machine caught on fire at Fremont factory]() \[*Electrek*\] **More on Tesla:** *[Elon Musk: Cybertruck Will Be Able to Power Off-Grid Tiny Homes]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()