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EVERYONE’S EXCITED ABOUT Tesla’s new Model 3 car, but mass producing that electric vehicle is going to require a ton of batteries.
That’s where Tesla’s Gigafactory comes into play.
For those unfamiliar, Tesla describes its massive 5.5 million square-foot Gigafactory as a way to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable transportation”.
The first Gigafactory, located outside Sparks, Nevada, is an ambitious manufacturing facility that plans to build batteries for Tesla’s electric cars for the foreseeable future. To make these batteries, Tesla will use: “economies of scale, innovative manufacturing, reduction of waste, and the simple optimisation of locating most manufacturing processes under one roof.”
The Gigafactory is also notable since it will be powered completely by renewable energy, according to Tesla.
The Gigafactory aims to start building battery cells by 2017, to coincide with the launch of the Model 3, reaching full capacity by 2020. But for now, all we can do is view the Gigafactory from the outside. And thanks to a drone pilot and his low-altitude quadrocopter, we can see how construction on the $5 billion (€4.4 billion) building is coming along.
Here’s Tesla’s first Gigafactory, located just outside Sparks, Nevada.
Tesla spent an estimated $4.5 million (€4 million) to build the first phase of the Gigafactory’s roof, according to work permits obtained by the Reno Gazette-Journal.
Construction on the roof is mostly complete. Solar panels are coming later, but the white foundation will ensure the roof stays cool, thus optimizing the efficiency of the solar panels.
Still, many large parts of the building are under construction and it looks like Tesla is also preparing the area for another large expansion.
Here you can see another angle of the Gigafactory’s expansions that are still under construction.
Tesla has spent millions of dollars building the “trailer city” around the Gigafactory, with several hundred thousand dollars spent on building a fire command center and guard shack, according to work permits.
The Gigafactory’s foundation alone cost an estimated $16 million (€14.2 million).
Last summer, Tesla spent nearly $13 million (€11.4 million) on the steel and concrete for the building’s mezzanine.
The electrical infrastructure for the Gigafactory reportedly cost Tesla about $300,000 (€264,000).
As Tesla puts the finishing touches on the exterior, it will begin building out the building’s “architectural interiors,” which will reportedly cost $10 million (€8.8 million).
If you want the full drone’s-eye-view experience, check out the video below.
If you want to get an idea of the incredible amount of work going into this important sustainable building, check out the Reno Gazette-Journal’s complete list of Tesla’s work permits and construction costs.
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One day we will all look at the internal combustion engine with the same disgust as someone who smokes indoors
I won’t.
Nah… Once electric cars become mainstream. All the hipsters will want to be seen in a vintage 2016 Opel Corsa.
Same as film camera and vinyl today … Never been growing in popularity so fast.
I doubt it, after all we hardly look down on previous generations for heavily relying on child labour.
the sooner these type of cars take over the world, the sooner we can tell the saudis to get lost. we don’t need their oil.
We don’t need their oil now, Just no one interest in manufacturing an alternative fuel to petrol or diesel.
The material needed to build these cars like the metals and plastics need oil to mine and process them so unfortunately we are not oil free yet. The advancement in battery life is really coming along nicely though
I’d prefer to see hydrogen fuel cell usage become more mainstream to be honest..
Now this is the kind of thinking, and vision, that I love. More of this please.
I wonder what Nicola would think if he were alive especially that the Americans left him for dead and penniless! Greatest inventor of all time.
Shafted by Jp Morgan, And their still doing it.
I think Nikolai would love it.
Nikola.
They would never get planning permission here!!
Skynet will be delighted
Great advancements in technology
But how is the electricity generated that’s used to recharge these batteries. That’s the bit nobody seems to think about.
Elon musk also had a solar power business , think it’s called solar city , something along those lines, I’m sure there’s some connection
People think about it and discuss it all the time. Cleaning car engines is one part of the clean energy jigsaw. Right now Ireland produces a lot of power from clean wind energy and hopefully that will increase. Another point to consider is that the vast majority of car charging is done at night when there is huge excess capacity in the grid so its use in charging batteries is very efficient.
And then a nuclear accident will happen, where do you lot think the electricity comes from?
It comes from renewable energy, if you actually read the article.
Overrated piles of $hite,we could have cleaner more fuel efficient internal combustion engines now, that run on methanol and rape seed oil, they would be far better than this electric crap.
Using arable land to grow fuel-crops is very dubious but certainly benefits the land owner. Hydrogen is the real future. EVs are a stop-gap but getting better. However, as the EV population grows, and electricity demand soars, it will show up just how ineffective wind farms are at supplying sustained demand. Nuclear is the only, current, way to supply base-load.
On a documentary I seen before they reckon waste from the likes of the drink industry could be cut to almost nothing as they could produce plenty of methanol from these sources there are others I can’t think of this was the biggest one. On another documentary I seen before they reckon we have enough resources to produce nuclear energy for 300+ years but if we build too many it would be cut to 80- years which would make mean they wouldn’t be cost effective as they reckon a nuclear power station has to be running a very long time to be worth the money
Nonsense, The future of cars is already decided, every major car company is announcing battery EVs. The debate is over , electric motors have won, ( and they smoke the doors off internal combustion engines anyway in performance )
All these legacy ICE-ers are going to be pretty pi$$ed as EV pull away from the lights at rates you cant touch !!!
have your say