Tesla has already begun production at their $5 billion battery factory, according to the company’s third quarter 2015 shareholder letter. In October, production of Tesla’s Powerpacks and Powerwalls moved from Fremont to an automated assembly line at the Gigafactory.
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Last Friday, two journalists from Gannett’s Reno Gazette Journal (RGJ) were in an altercation with two Tesla safety managers on Tesla’s property at the Gigafactory near Reno. One of the individuals, RGJ photographer Andy Barron was arrested and charged for battery with a deadly weapon by the Storey County Sheriff’s department.
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When Tesla Motors negotiated with the state of Nevada to build its battery factory in the desert east of Reno, the state government agreed to give the automaker up to $1.3 billion in tax incentives over 20 years to build the $5 billion project.
But the deal came with several requirements the company needs to meet to get access to the tax breaks. Most of which have to do with employment – Tesla is expected to create up to 6,500 jobs through the Gigafactory once it operates at full capacity in 2020 – but a lesser known requirement was for Tesla to invest in educational research in the state and this week the company fulfilled the commitment by signing an agreement to invest $1 million in battery research with the University of Nevada in Las Vegas (UNLV) over the next 5 years.
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According to a new report from the Reno Gazette-Journal, Tesla acquired several permits for multi-million dollar interior construction work at the Gigafactory located just outside Reno, Nevada. One of the permit is for a $10 million project of “architectural interiors”.
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In a new note issued today, Jefferies analyst Dan Dolev increased his price target on Tesla Motors to $365 following a new analysis on the company’s battery business. When Tesla first announced its “Gigafactory“, it forecasted a ~30% reduction in battery cost through economy of scale and improved chemistry, but since then Tesla executives revealed that 30% might have been conservative and Jefferies seems to agree.
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Today is the last day of Burning Man 2015 in the middle of the Black Rock desert of Nevada. Black Rock City, a temporary city of thousands, will dismantle tomorrow. The festival is known for its display of art and gifting economy, but also for the often extravagant vehicles use to explore the city.
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The state of Nevada gave an update on the developments of Tesla’s Gigafactory for the second quarter of the year. The company needs to keep up with the state’s requirements in order to get access to the $1.3 billion incentive package the state offered to secure the 6,500 jobs the factory is expected to create in Nevada and so far, so good for Tesla.
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From today’s Shareholder Report(PDF):
In June, we broke ground just outside Reno, Nevada on a site that could potentially be the location for the Gigafactory. Consistent with our strategy to identify and break ground on multiple sites, we continue to evaluate other locations in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. The final site for the first Gigafactory will be determined in the next few months, once we have full visibility and agreement on the relevant incentives and processes for enabling the Gigafactory to be fully operational to meet the timing for Model 3. We see these concurrent efforts as prudent. This vehicle will be
our third-generation product and will substantially broaden the addressable market for Tesla, helping to accelerate the transition towards sustainable transportation. Any potentially duplicative investments are minor compared to the revenue that could be lost if the launch of Model 3 were affected by any delays at our primary Gigafactory site.
Conference call will be at 5:30 here. Stock is down in after hours on unit shipment numbers.