"Nor had I ever heard of NUMMI. So that's where he makes his cars & gets properly stoned before logging into Twitter!!"
A little history...
Our 1965 Olds 4-4-2 was made in Fremont, CA at the old GM plant. They made El Caminos and other A bodies as well.
After they closed, Toyota and GM reopened it as "New United Motors something" or NUMMI.
The made Corollas, Prisms (same car, different badges), etc. My old 1993 Toyota 4WD pickup was built there. That old truck has well over 300K miles and is still in service.
It was very automated; I toured the plant twice. The PU beds were made and painted nearby; they trucked in the beds in the proper order (by color) and installed them right off the truck.
22RE engines were assembled near by as well. NUMMI was the biggest employer in Fremont.
GM pulled out and so did Toyota soon after. Lotsa unemployment soon after. Imagine all the support of the plant that was lost.
Toyota was building a Tundra line at the time of closing.
Elon Musk was gonna build his Tesla Model S plant in North San Jose; it was a pretty much done deal.
Fremont wanted Tesla; the tax base, employment, etc. They offered Musk incentives, but the plant was far larger than Musk needed.
Ultimately, the incentives and the pool of experienced automobile labor won. I remember the adds asking for ex NUMMI workers to apply.
Only a portion of the huge plant was opened; other buildings lay dormant.
Our Model 3 was built there, in the parking lot, in a huge tent.
So I have 3 vehicles from the Fremont plant. Thinking about another...
You might remember the Solyndra fiasco; I saw Gov. Romney in front of the empty headquarters making an ad.
That is also a Tesla building now.