Planning a Factory Tour
Planning a Factory Tour ======================= Tesla allows anybody who owns one of their vehicles, or who holds a confirmed reservation, to tour their Fremont factory. It's not entirely clear how, or whether, they expect most owners to discover this, as I couldn't find any information on Tesla's site, nor has the sales staff to which I've spoken known anything about it. Various forums reference it, there's some commonality in what's involved, but also a lot of conflicting information (such as policies around children: some have been allowed young children, others told that there was a height requirement, and others told there was an age requirement).
Fremont Factory --------------- The Tesla factory is located in Fremont, CA. Very early on, Tesla produced cars in Palo Alto, which is about 15 miles away, across the San Francisco Bay (or an hour by road, looking at online routings right now, with each one delayed 20-30 minutes). When Tesla moved from their low-production Roadsters to the more mainstream-targetted Model S, they purchased the former Toyota (and previously General Motors) factory which now produces all of their vehicles.
Scheduling ---------- Most recent information is that the tours are scheduled via eMail:
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2018 22:00:17 -0500 To: factorytours@teslamotors.com Subject: Factory Tour 2018-05-04
Dear Sir or Madam,
My wife and I have an X on order (expected delivery in March, VIN: 5YJXCBE21JF…) and will be in the Bay area in early May. I've been told that there are factory tours during the week. Could you provide more information?
Assuming that's accurate, could we attend a tour on Friday, May 4th?
Consistent information is that owners (and confirmed owners-to-be) can take one tour per calendar year, and are allowed to bring up-to three guests (as long as the owner is present).
Getting there ------------- If you don't live on the west coast, chances are you'll be looking to fly-in. The most convenient airport is San Jose (SJC), which puts you 11 miles south of the factory along Interstate 880. Another option, coming from the other direction is Oakland (OAK), which is 24 miles north along the same road. Finally, the largest airport in the area is San Francisco (SFO). SFO is at least a 36 mile drive (crossing the San Francisco Bay), and you'll basically be driving by either Oakland or San Jose (if you decide to take the 53 mile trip around the bay based on traffic).
I would expect that most visitors would fly into either SJC or SFO. The former has domestic connections from each of the legacy airlines; as well as flights from Boston and JFK for Jet Blue, Denver and Las Vegas for Frontier, and several locations on South West. SFO has higher-frequency flights from the legacies, more international connections, and importantly for some travellers in the North East: highly competitive routes meaning the availability of pampered business-class flights on Delta (Delta One from JFK/BOS), Jet Blue (Mint from JFK/BOS), United (Polaris from EWR), and American (which uniquely offers a three-cabin first class *Flagship*from JFK). Most people will find little reason to fly into Oakland, although the airport does add connectivity from ultra-low-cost carriers Spirit and Swoop.
Where to Stay ------------- Given California traffic, my suggestion would be to stay near the plant the night before your tour. There are a couple of limited-service hotels from Marriott and Hyatt which make for a very quick trip in the morning.
What else to Do? ---------------- While there isn't a lot in Fremont specifically, there's a lot to of options in the area depending on what time of year and your personal interests. Northern California is one of only three areas (along with Chicago and New York City) which has Michelin-reviewed restaurants, and to the north Napa Valley is famous for its vineyards but offers an escape from busy life year-round thanks to its moderate climate and gastronmic options. Also in the area (put predominantly north along the coast) are Redwood forests, housing the tallest trees on record, and which naturally live for over a thousand years. (Unfortunately, because of recent wildfires in northern California, many of the parks are currently closed.)
If you're looking for more active enjoyment, San Francisco also offers moderate weather year-round given the climatic effects of the eponymous bay. In addition to being the new home of the 1950's powerhouse New York Giants baseball team, San Francisco has several famous locations and a variety of museums. Among the most interesting sites to see? You can take a tour of Alcatraz, perhaps America's most famous prison-cum-national-park; or you can visit the oldest, and largest, Chinatown in North America, which is also responsible for popularizing the Americanized variant of Japanese tsujiura senbei: fortune cookies. If you're looking for iconic locations to photograph, Lombard Street, Alamo Square, and of course the Golden Gate Bridge are popular.