Beißen Gedanken: Elon Musk's megafactory in the Nevada desert begins battery production

Tesla Gigafactory Grand Opening Elon Musk July 29, 2016 Full

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Production began today on cells that will be used in Tesla's Powerwall 2 and Powerpack 2 energy products

Cells for Tesla's much anticipated Model 3 cell will follow in Q2

Current structure has a footprint of 1.9M square feet, which houses 4.9 million square feet of space

Less than 30% is complete - and when finished Gigafactory will be the biggest building in the world

Tesla's record breaking gigafactory has begun mass producing batteries for the firm's cars and energy product.

Set to become the world's biggest building when complete, the factory is a key part of Elon Musk's vision to transform the energy industry.

'Today at the Gigafactory, Tesla and Panasonic began mass production of lithium-ion battery cells, which will be used in Tesla's energy storage products and Model 3,' Tesla said.

Set to become the world's biggest building when complete, the factory is a key part of Elon Musk's vision to transform the energy industry, and today became mass producing battery cells. The current structure has a footprint of 1.9M square feet, which houses 4.9 million square feet of operational space across several floors - and it is only 30% complete.

The factory will initially produce a high performance cylindrical '2170 cell' which was jointly designed and engineered by Tesla and Panasonic to offer the best performance at the lowest production cost in an optimal form factor for both electric vehicles and energy products.

Production tests of the cells started in December and today, production begins on cells that will be used in Tesla's Powerwall 2 and Powerpack 2 energy products.

Cells for Tesl'as much anticipated Model 3 cell will follow in Q2 and by 2018, the Gigafactory will produce 35 GWh/year of lithium-ion battery cells, nearly as much as the rest of the entire world's battery production combined, Tesla revealed.

Tesla broke ground for its Gigafactory in 2014 and will produce the firm's own lithium-ion batteries in a bid to reduce costs.

The Gigafactory is being built in phases so that Tesla, Panasonic, and other partners can begin manufacturing immediately inside the finished sections and continue to expand thereafter.

Already, the current structure has a footprint of 1.9M square feet, which houses 4.9 million square feet of operational space across several floors.

'We are still less than 30 percent done, and once complete, we expect the Gigafactory to be the biggest building in the world,' Tesla said.

'With the Gigafactory online and ramping up production, our cost of battery cells will significantly decline due to increasing automation and process design to enhance yield, lowered capital investment per Wh of production, the simple optimization of locating most manufacturing processes under one roof, and economies of scale.

'By bringing down the cost of batteries, we can make our products available to more and more people, allowing us to make the biggest possible impact on transitioning the world to sustainable energy.'

Tesla also says it will lead to thousands of American jobs.

'In 2017 alone, Tesla and Panasonic will hire several thousand local employees and at peak production, the Gigafactory will directly employ 6,500 people and indirectly create between 20,000 to 30,000 additional jobs in the surrounding regions.'

Recent drone footage reveals that the electric carmaker has more than doubled the size by adding an additional 2.4 million square feet of space to the campus.

The north end of the massive building appears to be finished, making up about 4.5 million square feet of the overall 10 million square foot structure that is set to be done by 2020.

It's deemed the biggest factory in the world – but when Tesla opened the doors to its 'Gigafactory' earlier this year, only 14 percent was complete. Fast forward six months later and new drone footage reveals that the electric carmaker has more than doubled the size by adding an additional 2.4 million square feet of space to the campus

Matthew Roberts, a digital content creator and aerial videographer, shot the latest footage of the plant using a DJI Phantom 3 drone in 4K, reports Engadget.

The electric car maker has set a goal of 10 million square feet for the finished campus, but with multiple floors in the building it could end up finishing at 15 million square feet.

The massive structure, although far from completion, stands out among the dusty, barren landscape of Spark, Nevada.

TESLA'S 'ALIEN DREADNAUGHT' CAR FACTORY

Tesla's production facility for its much anticipated Model 3 will look like an 'alien dreadnought'.

Elon Musk has revealed the firm's production facility for its much anticipated Model 3 will look like an 'alien dreadnought'.

Musk has said the facility, which is separate from the firm's 'Gigafactory', will be 'the machine that makes the machine,' and told analysts it will stun people.

'It's like, 'What the hell is that?'' said Musk.

Musk revealed the in-house term for the manufacturing advancement he hopes to introduce is 'alien dreadnought.'

'The point at which that's what the factory looks like, that's when you know you've won.'

He also revealed the line will evolve in stages.

'By version 3, it won't look like anything else,' he said.

'You can't have people in the production line itself, otherwise you drop to people speed.

'So there will be no people in production process itself.

'People will maintain the machines, upgrade them, and deal with anomalies.'

However, there will still be people working in the factory, though, mostly overseeing the robots and making sure everything is running at peak efficiency.

The firm foresees it will drive down the per kilowatt hour (kWh) costs of their battery pack by more than 30 percent.

And keeping with Tesla's green theme, the plant will also be powered by renewable resources, 'with the goal of achieving net zero energy,' Tesla says.

CEO Elon Musk said the factory could easily employ 10,000 people in the next three to four years.

The name Gigafactory comes from the factory's planned annual battery production capacity of 35 gigawatt-hours (GWh).

'Giga' is a unit of measurement that represents 'billions'.

The north end of the massive building appears to be finished, which is about 4.5 million square feet of the overall 10 million square foot structure that is set to be done by 2020. Matthew Roberts , a digital content creator and aerial videographer, shot the latest footage of the plant using a DJI Phantom 3 drone in 4K

One GWh is the equivalent of generating (or consuming) one billion watts for one hour—one million times that of one kWh.

The Gigafactory is now producing battery packs but not yet creating the cells inside, Musk revealed.

The huge project is part of the billionaire's quest to drive down the cost of electric cars and create home battery packs to provide cheaper electricity.

Tesla broke ground for its Gigafactory in 2014 and will produce the firm's own lithium-ion batteries in a bid to reduce costs. The firm foresees it will drive down the per kilowatt hour (kWh) costs of their battery pack by more than 30 percent

The electric car maker has set a goal of 10 million square feet for the finished campus, but with multiple floors in the building it could end up finishing at 15 million square feet. The massive structure, although far from completion, stands out among the dusty, barren landscape of Spark, Nevada

The 13-year-old electric car company, which

has never made a full-year profit, wants to transition from a niche maker of luxury vehicles to a full-line maker of affordable cars, pickups and even semi-trucks.

However, a major reason for this new facility is that Tesla needs batteries for its fourth electric car, the Model 3 sedan, will is expected to hit the market next year – its starting price is around $35,000.

Although it may seem like a hefty price tag to some, this is the firm's least expensive model, which is due to the reduction in battery cost.

Keeping with Tesla's green theme, the plant will also be powered by renewable resources, 'with the goal of achieving net zero energy,' Tesla says. CEO Elon Musk said the factory could easily employ 10,000 people in the next three to four years. Tesla has set 2020 for the official date of when its Gigafactory will be finished

Tesla is seeking to raise its global manufacturing capacity to 500,000 vehicles in 2018 from an expected production rate of about 80,000 this year.

The batteries for Tesla's current vehicles, the Model S sedan and Model X SUV, are made in Japan. To get the fund the construction of billion dollar Gigafactory, the car maker has partnered with Panasonic Corp, which has invested $1.6 billion into the project.

This money has paid for equipment in sealed, humidity-controlled rooms that manufacture the batteries