Speaking at an energy conference in California on Wednesday, Tesla Motors (TSLA) co-founder and CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla’s planned battery gigafactory is necessary to support the luxury electric car-maker’s future expansion.
TSLA still hasn’t revealed exactly where the new factory — which will produce lithium-ion batteries for Tesla cars — will be built, but the company has indicated that it is exploring multiple possible locations. Musk said that the economics of constructing a factory to produce batteries for Tesla cars is a “no-brainer” and that TSLA “can’t figure out any other way to scale” its operations to meet anticipated growth, the Wall Street Journal notes.
Here are 6 things to know about the TSLA gigafactory:
- TSLA estimates the gigafactory’s cost at $5 billion.
- Panasonic has signed a letter of intent to become involved in the gigafactory, but hasn’t disclosed details of its participation.
- Tesla expects the gigafactory to begin making batteries in 2017.
- The factory will also produce batteries for other customers, including solar panel-maker SolarCity (SCTY).
- TSLA is looking at locations in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. California also is jockeying to get the bid.
- The gigafactory will help Tesla slash battery costs by at least 30%, according to Musk.
Tesla shares sank about 2% Thursday mid-day trading. TSLA stock closed at $190.16 per share on Wednesday.
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