Given his penchant for teasing and baiting interest for new products via social media, it was interesting to see Elon Musk’s latest hint at new Gigafactories outside the US.
The CEO of Tesla— which is in the midst of building a Gigafactory in Nevada, US— commented that given ‘high’ local demand Gigafactories in India, China and Europe would ‘make sense in the long term’.
What Musk deems as high is anyone’s guess, however the admission follows a high profile meeting between Musk and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September.
Earlier this year Musk teased Twitter followers leading up to the launch of the ‘secret’ Powerwall.
In a Q3 letter to shareholders, the company said it had begun producing Tesla Energy products— ie the Powerwall and Powerpacks— on an automated assembly line at the Gigafactory. These products most likely use outsourced Panasonic made cells.
The letter went on to say Tesla aims to manufacture the products using cells made at the plant by the end of 2016.
Earlier this month Tesla signed a deal to source lithium batteries from South Korean giant LG Chem— a major rival of Panasonic, which supplies lithium-ion cells for Tesla’s EVs, and plans to meet up to 40% of the Nevada Gigafactory’s $5billion costs.
