Tesla could build 500,000 vehicles per year at its new factory in Germany. Here's how the company's plants compare to others in the car business

Tesla Factory
Tesla Factory

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

Tesla currently operates a car factory in the San Francisco Bay Area and two "Gigafactories," near Reno, Nevada, and one in Buffalo, New York, (the latter handles solar panels, the former is manufacturing batteries in partnership with Panasonic).

Tesla intends to open a fully operational new Gigafactory in Shanghai, China, next year, with a Gigafactory near Berlin to follow.

The proposed Berlin factory could build up to 500,000 vehicles annually, making it a pretty serious operation.

Here's a closer look at Tesla facilities, as well as some notable plants operated by other automakers:

Tesla's main factory is located in the East Bay town of Fremont, in northern California.

Tesla Factory
Tesla Factory

Benjamin Zhang/Business InsiderTesla bought the plant from Toyota in 2010. In the 1980s, it was operated as a joint venture between Toyota and GM and called "New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc." or NUMMI.

Nummi GM Toyota plant
Nummi GM Toyota plant

REUTERS/Robert GalbraithTesla still maintains NUMMI's old test track, which features a pair of banked loops.

Tesla Track Skitch
Tesla Track Skitch

Business InsiderI took a spin on it a few years back. Tesla uses it to do a final test of new vehicles that leave the factory.

Tesla Track
Tesla Track

Matthew DeBord/Business Insider

Read more about the Tesla test track.

One unique feature of the Tesla factory is this enormous stamping press.

Tesla Factory
Tesla Factory

Benjamin Zhang/Business InsiderThe factory also has an army of robots.

tesla factory
tesla factory

TeslaHere's Sheena Patterson, an Tesla employee I profiled a few years ago. She's actually designed some of the factory's robots.

Sheena Tesla
Sheena Tesla

Matthew DeBord/Business Insider

Read about her job.

Tesla has assembly lines inside the factory, but after an automated Model 3 line failed to work properly, the company added an outside line under a huge tent. Here's CEO Elon Musk talking to "60 Minutes" about the improvised structure.

Elon Musk Tesla tent
Elon Musk Tesla tent

60 MinutesTesla also has a headquarters in Silicon Valley. I profiled designer and engineer Rosie Mottsmith there.

Rosie Tesla
Rosie Tesla

Matthew DeBord/Business Insider

Read about her job.

Tesla's design studio is located at the SpaceX rocket factory, south of Los Angeles. It's where Musk unveiled the company's New Roadster.

Tesla Roadster
Tesla Roadster

Tesla The first Tesla Gigafactory was built near Reno, Nevada.

Tesla Gigafactory.JPG
Tesla Gigafactory.JPG

REUTERS/Bob StrongTesla also has a factory in Buffalo, New York. It's where the former SolarCity business has its panel-manufacturing operations.

Tesla Buffalo Gigafactory new York
Tesla Buffalo Gigafactory new York

Brendan McDermid / Reuters Tesla's newest Gigafactory is in Shanghai, China, and should come fully online in 2020.

Tesla Shanghai China Factory construction August 2019
Tesla Shanghai China Factory construction August 2019

Geng Yu/VCG via Getty ImagesWhat about the rest of the auto industry? Well, here's Ford's famous River Rouge complex. It was Henry Ford's pride and joy.

rouge site
rouge site

Courtesy of Ford

And Elon Musk is a fan of it, too »

General Motors' Lordstown Assembly plant dates to the 1960s. It was controversially idled and then sold this year.

FILE PHOTO: A mural is seen on the side of General Motors' shuttered Lordstown Assembly plant during the United Auto Workers (UAW) national strike in Lordstown, Ohio, U.S. September 20, 2019.   REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
FILE PHOTO: A mural is seen on the side of General Motors' shuttered Lordstown Assembly plant during the United Auto Workers (UAW) national strike in Lordstown, Ohio, U.S. September 20, 2019. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

ReutersVolkswagen's assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is among the newest in the US, opened in 2011. It's in what some call "Detroit South."

VW Volkswagen atlas factory
VW Volkswagen atlas factory

VolkswagenBut the most notable factory in the world is perhaps Ferrari's complex in Maranello, Italy.

Ferrari Factory
Ferrari Factory

FerrariThe complex is near Ferrari's legendary test track, Fiorano. Enzo Ferrari's actual house is adjacent to the track, where Ferrari tests its Formula One cars.

Ferrari Fiorano
Ferrari Fiorano

FerrariThe facility is stunning. I've toured a lot of car factories. Ferrari's is something special.

Ferrari Factory
Ferrari Factory

FerrariThe wind tunnel was designed by architect Renzo Piano. It's known as the "Galleria del Vento."

Ferrari Factory Wind Tunnel
Ferrari Factory Wind Tunnel

FerrariTesla could try to match Ferrari's aesthetics with its own new factory, planned for construction near Berlin.

Tesla factory
Tesla factory

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