Tesla to expand gigafactory in Nevada, increase battery production
The year 2022 is touted to be the one in which Tesla exceeds sale of one million EV units. However, expectations are that it will soon double those numbers. Tesla now needs to expand its Nevada gigafactory to produce the batteries needed to power those two million EVs.
According to Electrek, Tesla's Gigafactory Nevada has been stagnant at 30 percent of its intended size for some years now. If it were to grow to its full potential, it could be the largest building ever constructed with a top production capacity of105 GWh of battery packs annually.
To date Tesla and Panasonic have focused solely on ramping up production. Now, after almost five years it has started to show activity and is seen to be actually adding to the gigafactory's footprint.
Gigafactory Nevada is a factory that Tesla shares with Panasonic where the latter produces battery cells that the former puts into battery packs for its electric vehicles produced at Fremont Factory. Panasonic is the sole maker of the more advanced Tesla battery, especially for its pricier models. Tesla also produces electric motors at the plant, as well as stationary energy storage products like Powerwall and Megapack.
Now, new leadership with Hrushi Sagar reveals future directions of the Nevada plant and some rare details of production data. Sagar talked to the Nevada team about the Fremont factory, which needs to be seen as a 'client' by Gigafactory Nevada.
The Nevada factory produced around 300,000 drivetrains during quarter two of 2022, which were utilized for vehicle production mainly by the Fremont and Austin factories. The Fremont utility requires Nevada to supply a steady '8,800 high voltage battery packs per week' for its vehicle production.
Tesla has also managed to significantly ramp up to 42 giant Megapack per week compared to 34 during the last quarter. The company also confirmed that it is now capable of producing over 6,500 Powerwalls per week, up from 37,600 produced in the second quarter.
The leadership has confirmed that Tesla has a production rate of 12,000 cars per week at the factory and it is in the process of ramping that up to 14,000 per week.
Tesla's Gigafactory Nevada appears set for a massive deployment of its products in 2023.
