Tesla Races To Finish Giga-Battery-Factory -- July 25, 2016

Updates

July 25, 2016: from today's print edition of The Wall Street Journal:

But Tesla’s lofty market valuation depends in large part on a successful Model 3 launch, set for late next year. And the factory’s readiness for mass production is unclear. Tesla had spent less than one-fifth of a planned $2 billion on Gigafactory capital outlays through March 31.

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This is perhaps the most interesting article in The Wall Street Journal today: Tesla races to finish 'Gigafactory' in time for Model 3 rollout. Elon Musk anticipates the new plant could be capable of producing a total of 105 gigawatt hours of battery cells by 2020.

SPARKS, Nev.— Tesla Motors Inc. is scrambling to finish building its massive $5 billion battery factory here years ahead of schedule to meet demand for its coming cheaper sedan and provide power for new types of vehicles Chief Executive Elon Musk says are under development.

Tesla has doubled the amount of people constructing the “gigafactory,” which sits on more than 3,000 acres near Reno. Now, 1,000 workers build seven days a week on two shifts in an effort to start churning out lithium-ion cells by early 2017.

The goal is to have the factory operational before the launch next year of the $35,000 Model 3 sedan, which is about half the base price of the Model S. Tesla opened reservations for the Model 3 earlier this year, and strong demand led Mr. Musk to pull a 500,000 sales target ahead two years to 2018. He also raised $1.7 billion through a stock offering in hopes of speeding up battery production expected to lower the cost of the batteries for electric vehicles.

As of now, the gigafactory’s structure is less than one-sixth the size of what the final building is expected to occupy. Most exterior walls are temporary and can be relocated. Already finished is a four-story rectangular portion of the facility, housing 1.9 million square feet of floor space. 

Once completed, Mr. Musk anticipates the new plant could be capable of producing a total of 105 gigawatt hours of battery cells by 2020, or enough to power 1.2 million Model S sedans—though up to one-third of those batteries are slated for stationary battery storage. About 50,000 Model S sedans were built in 2015.

Close association with SolarCity:

Mr. Musk in recent weeks has laid out aggressive expansion plans for Tesla, including heavier vehicles and an energy-storage business that marries Tesla’s battery business with SolarCity Corp. ’s solar panels. Mr. Musk, chairman and largest shareholder of both companies, has proposed a $2.8 billion merger of Tesla and SolarCity.

The roof of the new factory will be covered in SolarCity’s panels. A solar-panel field will be constructed nearby to provide additional power to the factory.

I sincerely hope Tesla meets its goal. If they can, again it will show what American workers can accomplish, all the way up and down the line, from the engineers who designed this to the welders in the trenches.