Tesla Motors announced its plans to create its proposed “Gigafactory,” a massive battery factory built for supplying the electric car company with power for its vehicles.
The company’s proposed 1,000-acre facility would create more batteries than are currently in production throughout the globe for any use, according to the Wall Street Journal. By 2020, it would allow Tesla to make 500,000 vehicles per year.
“By the end of the first year of volume production of our mass market vehicle, we expect the Gigafactory will have driven down the per kWh cost of our battery pack by more than 30 percent,” the company said.
The factory would also bring with it an estimated 6,500 new jobs, according to Tesla’s projected figures. Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas are all proposed locations where Tesla is looking into opening the battery production center.
Panasonic, the current supplier of the majority of Tesla Motors’ batteries, has indicated its support of the project, saying it’s “considering various options to strengthen our ties” with the automaker.
The plant’s estimated opening in 2017 would put it right in line with Tesla’s proposed release date of its $40,000 electric car aimed at the mass market.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, is also the Chairman of SolarCity, a solar panel and energy production company that stores solar energy in battery packs for use at night or during peak hours.