Tesla Announces Plans to Build 5 More Gigafactories to Meet Demand

Tesla’s first gigafactory, incredible in both size and scope, was already a massive achievement for Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, as well as sustainable energy advocates, but in a fourth quarter investor letter, Musk stated that there will not only be a new solar manufacturing plant in Buffalo, N.Y., but he has plans for three more, making a grand total of five gigafactories.

Musk had already hinted that at least 200 gigafactories needed to be constructed to meet electric vehicle demand, and with this latest announcement he looks to be quite serious about making the world’s transition to sustainable, renewable energy happen much faster.

Tesla’s first Nevada gigafactory, built in part with an investment from battery-making partner Panasonic, isn’t yet fully completed, and Musk also recently announced that the Nevada site will be the largest building in the world to date with an entirely solar powered roof, but that hasn’t stopped him from moving forward with his ambitious plans to make gears, batteries and other car parts that can help bring electric-powered cars to the masses.

Aside from the N.Y. plant, Musk has not yet revealed the locations for additional gigafactories, but investors are aware that Musk was speaking with a UK firm to possibly build one in Europe.

About 6,500 people are expected to be employed by the Nevada gigafactory when it is fully completed – now about one third done – so if Musk builds additional gigafactories primarily in the U.S. he could help to provide tens of thousands of jobs to people who have been hit by an economic “down turn” for decades now.

Tesla spent $522 million on capital expenditures during the fourth-quarter, including the continued Gigafactory build-out and will spend as much as $2.5 billion in capital expenditures related to the launch of its much anticipated Model 3.

Tesla also forecast first-half 2017 deliveries of the Model S and Model X at as much as 50,000 units combined, which would represent a 71-percent jump from year-earlier deliveries.

Image source: Teslarati