Tesla’s Gigafactory: An Energy Tour de Force?
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Justin Lloyd-Miller Google+ Twitter | + More Articles
March 03, 2014
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Last week, Tesla Motors ( NASDAQ:TSLA) shed some more light on the “Gigafactory,” a 10-million square foot facility that will produce the massive quantities of cells for its cars to allow the company to keep pace with its growing production. The project is huge in just about every way — its colossal physical footprint aside, it’s expect to cost upward of $5 billion in initial costs, and its output is expected to put Tesla on the map as a serious player in the energy industry.
By investing in such great economies of scale, Tesla will be able to bring the cost of the lithium ion battery cells down, thus making its cars more affordable and competitive with conventional gasoline engines from a pricing perspective.
Additionally, there is one giant boon that Tesla could take advantage of with its new factory. Lithium ion cells are not relegated to today’s electric cars; they can be found in just about any battery-powered device or gadget, including cell phones.
“If Tesla really produces batteries at the scale it’s promising, cars could become just one part of what the company does,” Marcus Wohlsen wrote for Wired. ”One day, Tesla could be a company that powers just about everything, from the phone in your pocket to the electrical grid itself.” |
