Long shot - SpaceX or Tesla anyone?
 

My wife and I will be getting a rare break from our 3 year old kid in about 10 days from now when we will be in California, and I had a grand idea of trying to surprise her with a tour of SpaceX or Tesla. We're both big fans of what Musk and team are doing and this would be an amazing experience sure to bring a big grin.

From what I understand, you pretty much have to know someone as there are no public tours. I know its a long shot, but if any group of people might either work there, or know a guy who knows a guy, it would be VAF! So if anyone out there can hook me up and help me score huge points with the wifey, please let me know.

Cant help with the quest for the tours------but glad to see you havent forgotten VAF, seems like a long time since either one of you have posted.

Guess that is understandable with a 3 year old;)

Gonna fly the 10 out west?

Well, I know at least 2 Spacex guys on VAF. Or at least they were last I heard.
I worked at Tesla during the development of Model S based in the design studio at Hawthorne. Initially we were borrowing spare space inside the Spacex facility.

It's unlikely that you'll get a tour of the Tesla design studio at Hawthorne, which is just behind Spacex along side the runway at KHHR (it was originally a Jack Northrop paint hangar), but Spacex often arrange visits. I know quite a few people there, so may be able to point you the right direction.

I'm not at Tesla any more, but now based in the SF Bay area and in contact with several people at Tesla's Fremont factory and Palo Alto HQ. They do quite a few factory tours at Fremont, so that's a good possibility too.

I'll drop you a PM.

Hey Mike, yes its been a while and I'm feeling a little guilty for being out of the scene lol. Building a toddler is harder than building an airplane, that is for sure! Yep, we're flying the -10 to AZ and Brandi and I are cruising over to LA area to watch the Ducks and Kings play some hockey since we're big hockey fans. Hopefully we can also manage to get a foot in the door at either Tesla or SpaceX while we're there too!

Awesome! Thanks Mark! I love the VAF community. :D

Hey Brian---have you reached out to Paul Dye? ---
Tom

Brian, will you be flying your -10 to CA or driving over from AZ? I'm based at KLGB and would like to see your plane if you are in the area. I work during the week but am around on the weekends.

Sorry, can't help with seeing Space-X or Tesla.

~Marc

I havent - I'll send him a message. Thanks for the suggestion.

Hi Marc, we'll be flying into Cali, weather permitting, and KLGB is a likely destination. We'll most likely be in town Tuesday through Thursday though, but if you're up for it after work or early morning we can try to catch up. I'll PM you my info so we can try to coordinate.

Sent you a PM.

SUCCESS! We did it VAF! SpaceX is amazing and is everything plus more than I hoped it would be. The future is bright. The wifey had no idea we were getting a tour so it was a great surprise to put it mildly.

OK Brian and Brandy -DISH!
 

What did y'all see? I know you could not take photos, but tell us what cool things are going on as Space X. Inquiring minds want to know.