Servebolt.com | Amazingly fast managed web-hostingThe massive factory, the first phase of which Tiramani estimates will cost $1 billion to build, is crucial to Boxabl, the startup he founded with his 62-year-old father Paolo in 2017. valued at $3 billion, according to the father and son.
In the bland world of construction technology, Boxabl suddenly became famous thanks to Casita – Elon Musk’s micro-house of more than 30 square meters. Tiramani therefore aspires to expand its offering with modules that can be stacked or assembled flexibly, thereby creating homes of different sizes and structures.
Although the area is only about 35 square meters, Casita has almost all the components of a normal house: kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom. According to Boxabl, most of the internal components are finished in the factory before being shipped.
Depending on user needs, Boxabl has a design that allows them to be placed side by side or cascaded to increase the use of space. The use of lightweight but strong materials such as concrete and super-durable steel allows Boxabl to withstand a variety of extreme weather conditions, such as storms, floods, etc.
In the world of construction technology, Boxabl suddenly became famous thanks to the tiny house Elon Musk bought, but its future is not really “bright” as people think.
The micro-home startup then amassed 649,000 followers on Instagram, more than any other competitor. According to Tiramani, of the approximately $140 million in funding Boxabl received, more than $100 million came from the public. The waiting list is as long as 160,000 orders.
“Galiano Tiramani wants Boxabl to stick in people’s heads,” said Jonathan Howard, a former Boxabl contractor. “And he succeeded.”
However, the future of Boxabl is not as “bright” as it imagined. No one knows when Boxabl will be able to produce quickly enough to handle the long backlog of orders. The “soon” new reputation is said to be about to tarnish, according to BI.
Most recently, one of the three Boxabl board members was accused of conspiring to conceal the Iranian government’s ownership of an office tower in New York City. Hamid Firooznia, the man we are talking about, has now been fired.
When asked how Firooznia, 75, was able to become the third person on Boxabl’s board, Tiramani said he was his father’s accountant and longtime business advisor.
“You know, this is just a person we respect very much who gave us good advice,” said Tiramani, later declining to reveal whether Firooznia has an investment or owns shares. in Boxabl or not.
According to BI, most individual customers when buying Casita houses do not know the specific time to receive the goods.
“Stop focusing on Hamid,” Tiramani wrote in the email. “He only helped the company in the early days when I was seriously short of staff.”
It is known that in about 1 year since the first factory went into operation, startup Boxabl only built at most 400 houses; can only assemble 2 pieces per day. The goal of producing thousands of micro-houses a year is more distant than ever.
Still, Tiramani is optimistic that Boxabl is gradually solving the technical challenges of mass-producing homes with low cost but high quality standards. Importantly, homes like the Casita fold up like a suitcase – an advantage that makes transporting the prefab easy.
“We are trying to solve a problem that the world cannot solve. I am confident that we will be able to lower the cost of housing production to a level that no one can compete with,” Tiramani told BI.
According to BI, the Boxabl homes are supposed to help solve America’s permanent housing shortage. They can be used to house the homeless as well as many of the citizens affected by skyrocketing housing costs. Meanwhile, homeowners can rent out Boxabl’s micro-homes, which are deployed in the form of Airbnb.
One of Boxabl’s first customers was a mining company. 176 Casitas were purchased last year to house many workers in Bagdad, Arizona. Pronghorn Group, the real estate development and investment company, is responsible for the installation of the equipment.
In addition to the above guest, Boxabl also served the US military with an order of 156 Casitas at Guantanamo Bay detention center, Cuba. However, according to The New York Times, many of the apartments had leaks and mold. It’s not clear whether the fault was with Boxabl or the contractor that installed them.
The massive factory, the first phase of which Tiramani estimates it will cost $1 billion to build, is crucial to Boxabl.
According to BI, most individual customers when buying Casita houses do not know the specific time to receive the goods. Signs of dissatisfaction have been noted: Of about 8,000 prepayments worth $5.4 million, more than $1 million have been refunded at customer request.
The story of Max – a customer in Arizona who made a deposit of 2,400 USD for 2 Casitas in 2021 is a good example. So far, this man still hopes to be handed over the house as agreed and does not want to cause trouble with Boxabl.
According to him, Boxabl did not provide any specifications of the Casita. This makes the preparation of the location of the house complicated. For example, Max will not know where to place the sewage system and utilities so that they are consistent with the kitchen, bathroom and total electricity.
“Honestly, it pissed me off. I think I’ll just wait this year and then ask for a refund.”
Additionally, Max said Boxabl did not receive the necessary state government approval to install Casitas in Arizona. They require prefab builders to obtain permits and certifications from the factory. Boxabl is missing 1 of them.
“It was absolutely crazy,” Tiramani said. “Excessive regulations only make people more tired.”
In January, Boxabl announced on Twitter that the second factory, measuring more than 12,000 square meters, was officially “opened”. However, the inside is almost completely empty. Tiramani said it would take about six months to start up the new factory, and the company planned to spend about $15 million installing automation equipment. If successful, it is estimated that Boxabl’s production capacity will expand to about 5,000 homes per year.
It is known that Tiramani’s father studied design and basic mechanical engineering, but both father and son have no practical experience in the field of real estate or building houses. “Everybody was against it,” said Zain Jaffer, the tech CEO and venture capitalist who invested $50,000 in Boxabl in 2019. There are many people standing in their way. However, you need a fresh perspective to bring about breakthrough innovation.”
Tiramani said he and his father are in talks with major institutions, including pension funds and many Wall Street investment firms, to continue spending capital to build a third factory and diversify services. . He hopes to be able to help Boxabl “get on the floor”, thereby changing his life thanks to the micro house. At the $3 billion valuation the company claims, Tiramani estimates his ownership stake is worth around $600 million.
According to: BIEN
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