Tesla has doubled the amount of workers involved in construction of its “gigafactory” in the Nevada desert, aiming to have it complete by early next year and the launch of its Model 3 vehicle.
The Wall Street Journal reports that 1,000 workers are working to finish the factory on the 1,200-hectare site on a two-shift, seven-day-a-week basis.
“We have to be ready with cell and pack production well ahead of vehicle production,” chief technical officer JB Straubel, told the Journal.
“We’re accelerating our construction plans and accelerating our planned ramp-up of cell production.”
The Model 3 sedan will sell for $US 35,000, about half the price of the Model S.
The factory currently produces battery packs, but cells are imported from Panasonic in Japan.