The Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada came online on Wednesday, beginning its production of lithium-ion cell batteries, as well as contributing jobs in the area.
In a blog post made by the company, the Tesla Gigafactoryalready produced 2,170 cells for qualification in December 2016, and it began the production of cells that will be employed in the Powerwall 2 and Powerpack 2 energy products last Wednesday. The 2,170 cells are a joint production by both Tesla and Panasonic.
According to Huffington Post, the merger of Tesla and SolarCity would also see the birth of a "one stop shop" for electric cars, solar systems, and batteries. This would pave the way for more sustainable energy to be generated and used.
Thousands of American jobs will also be created this year, writes Tesla. At maximum production, there will be about 20,000 to 30,000 indirect jobs created in the nearby regions in addition to the 6,500 people that will be directly employed by the auto company.
Even its factory in Fremont, California, is involved in job growth. Its expansion plans are predicted to bring in 3,100 new jobs, reports Jobs & Hire.
All of this is happening despite the fact that only 30% of the Tesla Gigafactory is completed. At present, it has a reported footprint of 1.9 million square feet, which houses 4.9 million square feet of operational space.
The blog post also added that that the construction is being done in phases. Manufacturing can be done in finished sections whilst the rest are being expanded and worked on.
The Tesla Gigafactory will play a vital role in contributing to the said vehicle's production when it starts Model 3 cell production in Q2. Recently, it was hinted that Tesla may have to double or triple is production rate in order to meet the 400,000 pre-order reservations for the Model 3.
By 2018, the factory is stated to produce 35 GWh/year of lithium-ion battery cells. This will not only make batteries more widely available but it will also decrease its cost.
