When Tesla acquired the NUMMI factory from Toyota a few years back, the automaker gutted the inside and took inspiration from Elon Musk's other venture: SpaceX.

The rocket factory in Southern California is a massive clean room, and the designers responsible for the Tesla plant used that as a template. Everything is white, from the columns to the ceilings to the floors. The thinking goes that if it looks clean and it feels clean, build quality will reflect that.

The red robots filling the building provide an eye-catching contrast to that stark background. They're fully automated production systems using the latest technology, and that ensures not just a high level of quality, but the ability to adapt production techniques to be even more precise, more flexible, and more efficient.

But while machines are great for repetitive tasks, humans are smarter. And that's why Tesla made a big investment in its workforce. They've employed some of the best technicians in the area to help build the Model S, and the final product proves that you can perfect the man/machine balance in a production facility.