Tesla Motors Inc. confirmed today that it has broken ground outside of Reno on a site for its massive “Gigafactory,” but it’s still evaluating sites in four other states. The electric car manufacturer said the competition for the $5 billion factory will continue for the next few months.
Elon Musk, chairman and CEO of Tesla, told analysts in a conference call Thursday the construction pad has been completed at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, a 100,000-acre industrial park east of Reno. The industrial park is home to BNSF Railway, Barrick Gold Strike Mines, Wal-Mart and Toys R Us.
But Musk cautioned that Tesla was constructing similar pads in other states. He said before “we start pouring concrete in Nevada” things need to be sorted out with the state, especially incentives.
“We want to make sure the incentives are fair to the state and Tesla,” Musk said “The ball is in the court of the state Legislature and governor.”
The blog Transport Evolved first reported last week that Tesla had broken ground.
“Consistent with our strategy to identify and break ground on multiple sites, we continue to evaluate other location in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas,” the company said in a letter to shareholders announcing their second quarter earnings.
Tesla came in just ahead of its guidance by delivering 7,759 vehicles in the second quarter, but posted earnings of 11 cents a share, far beyond Wall Street estimates of 4 cents per share. The company reported revenues of $858 million and reiterated its on track to deliver 35,000 vehicles this year.
Tesla also said it is teaming up with Japanese electronics company Panasonic Corp. to build the battery manufacturing plant in the U.S., which is expected to employ some 6,500 people by 2020. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The plant will produce cells, modules and packs for Tesla’s electronic vehicles and for the stationary energy storage market. Under the agreement, Tesla will prepare, provide and manage the land and buildings, while Panasonic will manufacture and supply the lithium-ion battery cells and invest in equipment.
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John Boyd, president of The Boyd Company Inc.
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