31–40 of 143 posts
Why do they call them all a "gigafactory"? This is getting ridiculous since the subject "gigafactory" in the article is a million square feet and 500 employees.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Most of the articles that I have read regarding the Buffalo plant have been about what a mess that it has been. This feels like an aberration, and maybe a sign that things are improving a little bit?
I don't want to digress here, but $345 million dollars has been spent in the last 5-7 years to promote growth in our region. However, entities like 43 North (our regions YC of sorts) has failed to retain / keep new businesses that they recruit for their yearly $1million VC contest. I think all but one company has stayed here since its inception. Secondly, the dollars here have all been spent on revitalization of Main…
I grew up in Buffalo (on the west side) among the minorities you mentioned - nothing stopped my peers (white, black, hispanic, etc) in school from succeeding except their own choices. It helps to have supportive parents, but it doesn't guarantee anything (my brother never got into any trouble but he's also never been motivated/driven either.) A friend who wound up being class valedictorian had two siblings that were both dropouts.
poverty != lack of opportunity
Why do they call them all a "gigafactory"? This is getting ridiculous since the subject "gigafactory" in the article is a million square feet and 500 employees.
(A billion square ft factory, according to Wolfram Alpha, would occupy ~35 square miles or 92 sq. km.)
Just over two years ago solar panels were prohibitively expensive for me. I read a couple of Instructables showing how to make your own panel using solar cells. I ordered the solar cells. The plan was to cover the whole garage roof with solar cells. The price of solar panels dropped. Now I have a box full of solar cells and it just isn't worth it to go the DIY route. The Solar Roof is out of my price range.
Alternatively, you might be able to sell the cells (at a loss) to recoup some funds and still end up with solar power for cheaper than you were originally intending to pay!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> it hadn't operated at a profit in over 2 years (I believe) And how much of that is a direct result of the fact they are competing against Chinese-made panels that are directly funded by the Chinese government? There is literally no way you can have a discussion about ANY renewable energy without it being political. Either the US is going to protect US industry from Chinese goods being sold below-cost, or we're goin…
I don't dispute that point - however, investment in a company that can't turn a profit by a magnitude of $750 million of our tax dollars and area doesn't seem to be a wise use of dollars. That's really my overarching concern. There's no real benefit to the local economy, so why do it? That's my business mind, not my political mind on what's good or not for the environment. In the end it's tax dollars (rather high at…
You're assuming the politicians have the area's best interest at heart. Start by thinking - what's in it for them? Good press for bringing in a nationally recognized brand to the area. Maybe campaign contributions from said company. Maybe you get thrown some more campaign contributions from the construction companies that get work out of the deal.
OT: Is there a reliable Firefox to block these annoying Bloomberg auto-play videos?
I'm not a big fan of Elon Musk, but let's not get political. I do however, want to point out Buffalo .. its troubles with Solar City .. and its troubles with Elon Musk. Key (non-disputed / non-political points) - Tesla did not hire local workers, and did not hold up on its end for diversity of work-force - SolarCity received 750$ million in the Billion to Buffalo at a time it hadn't operated at a profit in over 2 yea…
> So .. my real question, is why is this not brought to the national level for discussion to what Elon is doing to communities like Buffalo, where I live? That's my question ... Because Buffalo isn't a place that attracts much attention about anything outside of lake-effect snow and how terrible the Buffalo Bills are. These silver-bullet projects that promise to bring large number of high-paying jobs rarely pan out.…
The only movie about Buffalo I know of literally features lake-effect snow, how terrible the Bills are, and the tap dancing of Christina Ricci.
Why do they call them all a "gigafactory"? This is getting ridiculous since the subject "gigafactory" in the article is a million square feet and 500 employees.
Why do they call them all a "gigafactory"? This is getting ridiculous since the subject "gigafactory" in the article is a million square feet and 500 employees.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-31/tesla-sta...
Which is admittedly not large by global standards, but bigger than any solar manufacturing facility that has operated in the US.
Why do they call them all a "gigafactory"? This is getting ridiculous since the subject "gigafactory" in the article is a million square feet and 500 employees.
via https://www.tesla.com/gigafactory
Doesn't explain why they call Buffalo's operation a "Gigafactory," but that's the origin of the name for the more well-known Nevada-based Gigafactory.