Tesla's Gigafactory has opened and has begun mass producing lithium-ion battery cells for it's products and Model 3. The Gigafactory is already producing battery cells for the Powerwall 2 and Powerpack 2 but will be producing Model 3 cells sometime in Q2 and by next year Tesla's Gigafactory will begin producing 35 GWh/year of cells nearly matching global production.
For the sake of efficiency, the Gigafactory is being built in phases so that Tesla and any partners can begin production in the finished sections immediately. Currently the Gigafactory covers 1.9 million square feet and houses 4.9 million square feet of operational space which is not even a third of the complete factory.
Once finished this will be the largest building in the world.
Tesla's Gigafactory will still need people in it.
Although some automation will be present in the factory at peak production, Tesla's Gigafactory will still need 6500 workers to run it. In the surrounding areas of Reno Nevada there's expected to be about 20,000 to 30,000 additional jobs created indirectly from the Gigafactory. Renewable resources aren't exactly perfected yet, so it makes sense that a building this large is still on the grid.
The main power source of the Tesla's Gigafactory is still its solar roof and wind mills, as their goal is to achieve net zero energy for running the building in its entirety. With the entire roof of the Gigafactory and some ground installations it would be easy to believe Tesla is also planning to have the largest solar power source to go along with it.
Tesla's Gigafactory isn't complete yet, but investors will be given a tour soon.
Future Updates.
Tesla has so much coming in the near future and are really making a name for themselves by shaking up the industry.
- Updates on the the new Autopilot 2.0
- Working on trucks and buses for public use
- Gigafactory 2 is planned to be built in europe
- The solar roofing shingles Tesla Glass are being improved upon
- The SUV version of the Model 3, the Model Y is rumored to be in the works as well
Tesla seems to be doing what they can to live up to the name Tesla, and whatever they come up with is sure to make an impact in more ways than one.
Companies like Samsung are already working on products to compete with Tesla's Powerpack 2, who knows what will happen with more companies competing for dominance of this growing market?
For those who aren't investors, I found a good 15 minute video tour of the factory and you can see a small portion of the building that's already in use.
