Work has begun on Tesla Motors’ “gigafactory,” a $5 billion project on 980 acres in Sparks, Nev., that, when at full capacity in 2020, could annually produce 50 gigawatt-hours of lithium-ion batteries, or enough for 500,000 of Tesla’s electric cars.
Sparks, a suburb of Reno, Nev., was the winner in the gigafactory sweepstakes whose finalists were Fort Worth, Austin, Phoenix, and Albuquerque. Last September, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a bill granting $1.3 billion in tax breaks to Tesla—including giving it the land for free—to build this massive plant, which at an estimated 5.5 million sf would be equal to 174 football fields.
Panasonic, which owns a portion of Tesla, last October said it would invest 10 billion Yen—or the equivalent of $92 million—into this project. The Wall Street Journal quoted Panasonic’s CEO, Kazuhiro Tsuga, who promised “installments of similar amounts” into this plant in the future. Currently, Panasonic supplies batteries for Tesla’s cars from its plants in Asia.
Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, says he expects Panasonic to contribute between 30% and 40% of the plant’s total cost. Tesla Motors will ante up half of the cost, and will manage the plant itself.
Tesla is building this plant to provide batteries for its Model 3 car, which is scheduled to go into production in late 2017 or early 2018. The plant would also provide batteries for Tesla’s Model S, and its upcoming Model X SUV. However, when this plant is scheduled to open is uncertain, as different news reports have said the opening could be in late 2016 or sometime in 2017.
The Nevada plant’s construction is projected to create between 20,000 and 22,000 jobs, and 6,500 permanent jobs. Over a 20-year period, the plant is expected to add $100 billion to Nevada’s economy.
Tesla’s goal is to produce batteries that are cheap enough for it to be sell its Model 3s for around $35,000. These batteries would also allow the electric cars to drive up to 200 miles before needing recharging.
However, given that Tesla sold between 33,000 and 35,000 cars globally in 2014, according to the website InsideEVs, its dreams of 500,000 units sales seem quixotic, especially given buyers’ lukewarm reception to all-electric cars so far.
To put this into some perspective, the two best-selling vehicle models in the U.S.—the Ford F-series trucks and Toyota Camry—sold 763,000 and 404,000 units in the U.S., respectively, last year, when a total of 16.5 million autos were purchased by American buyers. Toyota offers a gas-electric hybrid model, one of 47 hybrids from different manufacturers available in the U.S., where hybrids account for 3.2% of all light-vehicle sales.
Plug-in electric car sales in the U.S., on the other hand, rose above the 100,000-unit level for the third consecutive year in 2014, according to the website GreenCarReports.
Tesla doesn’t break out its U.S. sales, but given that its Model S starts at $70,000, one would think its market share is small. Nevertheless, the company is banking on a sizable increase in worldwide demand for electric cars. Last week Musk told CNBC that his company “should be able to produce a few million cars a year by 2025.” Tesla recently upgraded its plant in Fremont, Calif., to be able to produce 100,000 electric cars by the end of 2015.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Great Solutions: Products
14. Mod Pod A Nod to Flex Biz Designed by the British firm Tate + Hindle, the OfficePOD is a flexible office space that can be installed, well, just about anywhere, indoors or out. The self-contained modular units measure about seven feet square and are designed to serve as dedicated space for employees who work from home or other remote locations.
| Aug 11, 2010
8 Tips for Converting Remnant Buildings Into Schools
Faced with overcrowded schools and ever-shrinking capital budgets, more and more school districts are turning to the existing building stock for their next school expansion project. Retail malls, big-box stores, warehouses, and even dingy old garages are being transformed into high-performance learning spaces, and at a fraction of the cost and time required to build classrooms from the ground up.
| Aug 11, 2010
Fleet Library, Rhode Island School of Design
When tasked with transforming an early 1920s Italian Renaissance bank building into a fully functional library for the Rhode Island School of Design, the Building Team for RISD's Fleet Library found itself at odds with the project's two main goals. On the one hand, the team would have to carefully restore and preserve the historic charm and ornate architectural details of the landmark space, d...
| Aug 11, 2010
John Adams Courthouse
After more than a century without a substantial renovation, Old Suffolk County Courthouse, designed in Neo-Classical style by Boston's first city architect, George Clough, was overdue for a facelift. Enter the makeover team: Boston-based architects Childs, Bertman, Tseckares and general contractors Suffolk Construction/NER Construction Management.
| Aug 11, 2010
Lifestyle Hotel Trends Around the World
When the Rocco Forte Collection opens the Verdura Golf & Spa Resort in Sicily in early 2009, the 200-room luxury property will be one of the world's newest lifestyle hotels. Lifestyle hotels cater to guests seeking a heightened travel experience, which they deliver by offering distinctive—some would say avant-garde, or even outrageous—architecture, room design, amenities, and en...
| Aug 11, 2010
Special Recognition: Kingswood School Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Kingswood School is perhaps the best example of Eliel Saarinen's work in North America. Designed in 1930 by the Finnish-born architect, the building was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie Style, with wide overhanging hipped roofs, long horizontal bands of windows, decorative leaded glass doors, and asymmetrical massing of elements.
| Aug 11, 2010
Giants 300 Index and Methodology
BD+C's annual Giants 300 list consists of U.S. firms that designed or constructed the largest volume of commercial, institutional, industrial, and multifamily residential buildings in 2008. Each spring, the editors survey the country's largest firms, ranking the top 300 across six categories: architects, architect/engineers, engineers, engineer/architects, contractors, and construction managers.
| Aug 11, 2010
Joint-Use Facilities Where Everybody Benefits
Shouldn’t major financial investments in new schools benefit both the students and the greater community? Conventional wisdom says yes, of course. That logic explains the growing interest in joint-use schools—innovative facilities designed with shared spaces that address the education needs of students and the community’s need for social, recreation, and civic spaces.
| Aug 11, 2010
The pride of Pasadena
As a shining symbol of civic pride in Los Angeles County, Pasadena City Hall stood as the stately centerpiece of Pasadena's Civic Center since 1927. To the casual observer, the rectangular edifice, designed by San Francisco Classicists John Bakewell, Jr., and Arthur Brown, Jr., appeared to be aging gracefully.
| Aug 11, 2010
9 Rooftop Photovoltaic Installation Tips
The popularity of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) panels has exploded during the past decade as Building Teams look to maximize building energy efficiency, implement renewable energy measures, and achieve green building certification for their projects. However, installing rooftop PV systems—rack-mounted, roof-bearing, or fully integrated systems—requires careful consideration to avoid d...