Dive Brief:
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Tesla’s Nevada gigafactory, which the electric car maker has claimed will be the largest lithium-ion battery plant in the world, reportedly could become the world’s largest building — in terms of footprint — by the time it is finished.
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The firm has purchased 1,200 acres near the original site of the $5 billion, 10 million-square-foot factory, which is under construction and is expected to open within a year, and the company is in the market for 350 additional acres, according to multiple media reports. Tesla’s new plan reportedly is to build a 24 million-square-foot factory.
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The news came from Dean Haymore, of the Storey County Commission, who said that Tesla Motors bought the additional acreage and has plans for further additions. Tesla has not confirmed the expansion, although CEO Elon Musk hinted at it during his last quarterly earnings call with investors.
Dive Insight:
Musk revealed during the call that the company has taken orders for far more of its new PowerWall and energy storage products than it expected, which could be one reason for the reported expansion of the plant.
The CEO did not say, however, if a possible factory expansion would affect production of those products or affect the launch of Tesla’s Model 3 electric car.
