January 05, 2017, will go down in history as the first day of production for Tesla’s massive Nevada factory. Tesla and Panasonic are officially making the firsts 2170 cell batteries.
Both companies want to offer a high-performance battery for electrical vehicles and devices at the lowest production cost possible.
The cells will find their way to second-generation Powerpacks and Powerwalls all over the country. Production of cells for the Tesla Model 3 will begin in this year’s second quarter.
By 2018, Tesla hopes to produce 35 GWh a year of energy, which nearly rivals the total battery production for the rest of the world combined.
Reno’s Gigafactory is going to be the biggest building on Earth
Tesla is building its massive facility in phases so production can start in its already-completed parts and later expand to other regions of the factory.
The company states this particular manufacturing strategy allows them to learn and improve upon the plant’s construction and battery production on the go.
When finished, Tesla’s Gigafactory will become the largest standing building in the entire world. A few weeks ago, artist Matthew Roberts uploaded 4K footage of its impressive size via a DJI Phantom 3 drone.
The battery plant, as stated at that moment, will have the size of 107 NFL football fields. Its current span is 1.9 million square miles (at approximately 30% completion), this means that the whole factory will approximately measure 5 to 6 million square miles in total.
Tesla’s Gigafactory will lower the cost of everyday things
Battery Cell Production Begins at the Gigafactory https://t.co/xrFl4tChBx
— Tesla (@TeslaMotors) January 4, 2017
Elon Musk has been open about his company’s intentions. He and his team of experts want to push the world forward to sustainable energy by creating electrical cars and power generation systems that do not use fossil fuel.
When the Gigafactory reaches its production peak the cost of energy storage will “significantly decline” as a result, the company notes. In essence, larger supplies ultimately make products cheaper.
Tesla expects this result to enable them to bring their products to an even greater number of people, which will keep them on the right track to becoming the leading pioneers in the transition towards a sustainable world.
As a side note, the company is keen to reiterate the factory will create a significant number of jobs. Reno’s facility will employ a total of 6,500 workers, and will create between 20,000 to 30,000 additional jobs indirectly, the statement said.
Source: Tesla
