Tesla Motors Moves Ahead With Construction of $5 Billion Nevada Gigafactory

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Construction of the massive Tesla lithium ion battery factory in Nevada is underway. The Gigafactory, a $5 billion joint venture between Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) (Palo Alto, California) and Panasonic (Osaka, Japan), will be located 20 miles outside Reno.

The two companies announced their plans in September for the Gigafactory, located in McCarran, Nevada. The facility is part of the companies' ongoing collaboration since 2007. With Panasonic providing Tesla with high-energy rechargeable batteries.

Tesla is providing the land, buildings and utilities that will enable Panasonic to manufacture roughly 500,000 electric car battery packs a year by 2020 for Tesla's Fremont, California vehicle plant. The batteries will be used in Tesla's new Model X crossover vehicle, which is expected to be launched by next spring, and its Model 3 vehicle, which is anticipated to launch by 2017. The new Gigafactory will also build solar energy storage units for SolarCity (NASDAQ:SCTY) (San Mateo, California), a solar energy systems supplier also founded by Tesla.

Site work was performed ahead of schedule in June by Reno-based site contractor, F&P Construction. CH2M Hill (Meridian, Colorado) was chosen as the architectural and engineering firm to design the site. Yates Construction Incorporated (Birmingham, Alabama) was chosen as the head general contractor for the battery factory. The Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRIC) (Reno) enabled Tesla to buy and purchase the land.

The factory would create 6,500 jobs in a state with an unemployment rate of 7.7%.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.