Tesla | 2015-2016
GigaLab and Battery Material Selection
Structured evaluation, supplier benchmarking, and laboratory buildout during Tesla hypergrowth.
Overview
At Tesla, Travis supported battery-material selection, supplier evaluation, laboratory development, and manufacturing-readiness activities during Model 3 and Gigafactory 1 launch work.
The Challenge
Fast technical decisions required clear requirements, comparable supplier data, hands-on testing, and a lab system capable of supporting hypergrowth.
Travis's Role
Battery materials and evaluation contributor across adhesives, coatings, test plans, custom formulations, stakeholder requirements, and quality laboratory buildout.
What Travis Built
Test programs across mechanical, thermal, electrical, and environmental requirements; custom adhesive formulations; supplier benchmarking workflows; and support for Gigafactory 1 quality lab design and build.
Lesson learned
Good technical decisions require clear requirements, structured comparisons, and enough hands-on testing to know what the data actually means.