Tesla Gigafactory Operational, Mass Battery Production Commences

When Elon Musk decided to build the Gigafactory, the whole point was to end Tesla Motors’ dependence on third-party manufacturers for car batteries as well as to become one of the biggest producers of batteries on the planet. It would seem that Musk is finally seeing his ambition through by turning on the gigantic facility.

For Tesla’s CEO and investors, there are likely few words that can bring such a feeling of relief as “The Gigafactory is active.” It sounds like a serious line of dialogue in a movie, but to Musk and his supporters, it’s the culmination of years of effort. Today marks the date when the first consumer-grade battery cells come rolling down those conveyor belts and into the first fleet of Tesla Model 3 vehicles, Bloomberg reports.

The mass production efforts of the company is a huge milestone owing to the fact that the factory and the batteries that it will sell, as well as the cars that it will create, will occupy a significant slot in Tesla’s profit sheet. For years, investors have had to suffer through the losses, delays, and doubt. Much is riding on the Gigafactory’s success, particularly with regards to the production of the Model 3s that currently has hundreds of thousands of reservations.

On that note, this isn’t just Tesla’s victory since Panasonic is also joining in on the parade. Along with Tesla’s own announcement, Joseph Taylor, the CEO of Panasonic’s North America branch also made his own declaration during the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show, Green Tech Media reports.

The battery cells that the facility will produce possess the highest energy density in the market, making them attractive prospects for a known battery producer like Panasonic. With the commercial production taking effect, Taylor notes that this development is only going to deepen the relationship that the two companies have.