In the Nevada desert right now , an electrical rotation is taking place . If Elon Musk wants to stay true to his dream of bringing electrical cars to the masses , then he demand a lot of battery – a Gigafactory ’s Charles Frederick Worth , in fact .
Yes , theTesla Gigafactoryis true to its name in that it is , well , a $ 5 billion factory of gigantic proportion . open to the jam this week , the huge building complex will be the largest building in the world by footprint when it is fill out in 2020 , spanning 540,000 square meters ( 5.8 million satisfying understructure ) – or more than 100 football field . “ The scurf blows me away every fourth dimension I see it , ” Musk said in arecent tweet .
Earlier this year , Musk revealed the Tesla Model 3 carto the creation , an affordable mainstream galvanising motorcar costing $ 35,000 . In March , it received 325,000 pre - order of $ 1,000 .
But the car itself is n’t quite ready to go on sale yet . To encounter requirement , Musk is hoping to farm half a million cars a year . And , as you in all likelihood do it , the auto apply electric batteries , charged by Tesla Supercharger post . What ’s more , Musk announced recently – as part of his “ Master Plan , Part Deux ” – that he wants Tesla to start producing trucks and motorbus , too .
Musk utter at the launching . Troy Harvey / Bloomberg via Getty Images
And how do you make enough batteries to feed this need ? Well , that ’s where the Gigafactory comes in . By 2018 , this one plant in Nevada will repeat the world ’s production of lithium ion bombardment , grow 35GWh of battery office , and maybe eventually as in high spirits as 150GWh . But it does n’t stop there ; Musk envisions edifice Gigafactories around the world , from Europe to China , to make Tesla a general phenomenon . An self-propelling revolution , if you will .
At the moment , the Gigafactory is only 14 percent complete , with theatrical role of it still a building website , and others already piece battery pack for the car company ( with the help of investment from Panasonic ) . When finish , the building complex will be 100 percent sustainable , running entirely on solar world power .
The Gigafactory is currently 14 percent complete . Troy Harvey / Bloomberg via Getty Images
The first batteries from the Gigafactory are expected to get along next year , with 1,000 masses working 24/7 to make it all fall out . And inside , the home is like a coup d’oeil into the next – self-governing machines do the work , while human being keep everything ticking over .
forum of the Gigafactory only actually began in 2014 , and it is apparently two age ahead of schedule – something that will please investors , as Tesla is yet to start making serious money . That it has been built so quickly is will to Musk ’s firmness of purpose . He is going to shake up - up the railroad car industry , despite the naysayers , and he ’s doing it on Elon Time .
