On July 19, Tesla will celebrate the grand opening of the Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada. It is a massive factory that is under construction outside Reno.
The news of the grand celebration was emailed to customers in a raffle. The raffle consisted of clients who referred more than five new customers. There was confirmation from Tesla that they would be holding a customer-focused launching event on that night, Fortune writes.
The factory covers 130-acres of land, Cnet reports. The factory is only 14% done as of this writing. However, Tesla has been hosting small events in the areas of the company that has been completed. Tesla and SolarCity hosted a talk for the future of solar power in state for Nevada's legislators in March.
It is reported that it will cost $5 billion to complete. A partnership with Panasonic for supplies in battery productions equipment is at work.
To go to the Gigafactory, clients will drive east from Reno and turn into a extensive Industrial Center, then take a left on Electric Avenue. Upon entering the compound, a building name "Gigafactory 1" will be seen. It is clear that Tesla aims to produce more Gigafactories, Bloomberg said. Upon entering, guests will receive hard hats, safety glasses and reflective vests.
The creation of the massive battery factory was born out of necessity. The company will need a lot of batteries for its impending Model 3 sedan, which will be mass produced. It is also in preparation for the Tesla Energy product line. The factory aims to reduce battery cost down by 30 percent. It has the capacity to produce 35 gigawatt-hours of battery cells in a year. 1GWh equates to production of 1 billion watts in one hour.
There have been changes in the battery production timeline as Elon Musk, Tesla Chief Executive, announced the sped-up production schedule. The new schedule calls for half a million electric vehicles in a year come 2018.
Investors were surprised by the announcement, as the company had limited production of 50,658 vehicles in 2015. JB Straubel, chief technology officer, said that they are still on track to start cell production at the end of 2016. This is in accordance to matching the release of the Model 3 sedan.
Numerous changes in the factory is expected the coming months. Interior rooms are being prepped. Huge floor space is taken by the rooms, as some sections stand four stories tall. The company also purchased land around the site, preparing for future expansions.
