Community Highlights: Meet Joe Tegtmeyer

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Tegtmeyer.

Hi Joe, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
What I do is cover the construction of Tesla’s Giga Texas just to the east of Austin in Del Valle, Texas. I got started in July 2020 just after the public announcement that Tesla selected this site for the construction of this multi-billion dollar facility. I began with a small drone and received permission from Elon Musk directly to use the drone to fly over and document the progress of the construction effort, and I began a YouTube channel to share the videos, information and additional details with a worldwide audience. Honestly, when I began, I did not know much about making videos (creating content, editing, exporting to 4K, uploading, etc…) nor did I really understand how YouTube channels work (uploading content, seeking and building audiences, ad revenue, social media funnels, etc…) so I had a pretty steep learning curve, but I was able to grow my channel from a handful of subscribers to now 20K subscribers and 10K Twitter followers as well. I also have almost 400 Patreon supporters, which continues to grow almost daily! It has become my full-time job, especially with the amount of driving I have to do to be able to fly and video the construction of Giga Texas.

I have an aviation background as an Air Force KC-135 pilot, so I thought I might be able to bring this experience to drone flying. I am a licensed remote pilot with the FAA, which allows me to fly and obtain airspace clearance to document the construction effort.

The main reason I decided to try and document this construction project was inspired by similar efforts in Shanghai (China) and Berlin where similar Tesla factories are located and being constructed at nearly the same time frame. There is a worldwide audience eager to see and learn more about what Tesla is doing and I thought I might be able to add to the discussion with drone videos, information about what is going on and what may be coming next and share with a growing dialogue with viewers and supporters… it has worked out beyond my wildest dreams when I began and has been a great experience along the way.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the biggest challenges I have had is the distance I need to drive… it has added about 35,000 miles over about 20 months to be able to document Giga Texas and adds about 3 to 4 1/2 hours each day (depending on traffic), which, when included with actually flying to capture the video, doing the editing, exporting, uploading research, flight authorizations, and social media/YouTube management means I routinely have 12 to 14 hour days. I also fly early in the morning to try and miss as much traffic as possible, so that means leaving home sometime between 0500 and 0600 (depending on weather, sunrise and other considerations)

I also ended up having to upgrade my drones to more powerful versions to handle the winds, cold, heat and vast distances involved (Giga Texas spans over 3,000 acres, with an active construction area almost 1,000 acres at the moment). I usually fly about 10 to 15 miles each trip with the drone, so the flight miles have really added up so I use several drones to help manage that as well.

I originally attempted to fly the drone over Giga Texas every other day and I did that for a year, but the time commitment became quite a challenge, so in late July 2021, I switched to every Monday-Wednesday-Friday, which is a bit more manageable. Sometimes the weather can be a big challenge, so I adjust if possible, but airspace clearances are usually obtained a month (or several weeks) in advance, so it makes it somewhat difficult to make last-minute changes.

Early on, there was a period where the on-site security was not sure if I (and a few others) were allowed to fly over the construction site, but as mentioned, Elon Musk granted approval and then we were able to work with Security and other contractors that also fly drones for the construction project itself to come up with deconfliction rules and times to minimize the chances of getting in the way of progress at the site and also keeping within the guidelines Tesla provided.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve intentionally added to my coverage of Giga Texas (as compared to other channels) is that I provide information, details, sourced documentation and introductions to help the viewers understand what they are seeing or answer questions that I have been given via user comments. I provide much more than simple fly over footage, and I try my best to package this in a well-edited, professional video with creative flight paths and focus areas to help viewers appreciate the work being accomplished. Also, I provide via many different social media avenues high-resolution images that are used by a number of media, both social and traditional.

I think I am most proud of the consistent, informative and accurate information I’ve provided from day-1 covering this massive construction project and the very positive reception I’ve received from viewers and supporters along the way.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I like to understand why things are the way they are, how they work and then sharing these discoveries with others. Covering Giga Texas has allowed me to do this in a way that has reached a global audience and this has been very fulfilling to me.

Also, I enjoy blending different skillsets and trying something new… this particular effort has been an awesome way for me to do this in a way I had never tried before. Flying drones allows me to use my Air Force pilot experience in new ways. Video editing has allowed me to use some computer skills I’ve accumulated over many years in a new way, as I had never tried to make a professional video before. Building a YouTube channel was something I had never thought about before I started this effort, but I was familiar with things like WebEx, remote work, etc…, so this helped me quite a bit, especially in the early days of setting up the channel and starting to grow my audience. Learning how social media works as a multiplier effect to tell a larger audience about what you are doing has been fascinating (and sometimes frustrating). This particular effort covering Giga Texas allowed me to blend all of this into a new project for me, and I truly enjoyed figuring out how to put it all together and then constantly make changed to improve and grow beyond my initial efforts.

Contact Info:

• Email: joe.tegtmeyer@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joeslastchancegarage/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joe.tegtmeyer
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeTegtmeyer
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4UwT7zCc-T_BN9_E45FVNA