Drone footage shows Tesla's Gigafactory taking shape
It’s not pretty, but it’s pretty big.
To deliver the Model 3 and its dream of an affordable, yet reliable electric car, Tesla needs the Gigafactory. The complex in Nevada will be used to produce batteries at an unprecedented scale, besting the might of every other factory in the world combined. Before that can happen, however, Elon Musk needs to build the darn place. Fresh footage by Matthew Roberts, shot with a DJI Phantom 3 drone in 4K, shows how far the project has progressed. As expected, there's still a long way to go -- only a handful of the 21 Gigafactory "blocks" have been completed so far. Even so, it's an enormous building that dominates the picturesque desert landscape.
When the Gigafactory is complete, Tesla hopes to produce 35 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of capacity each year. That's enough to keep up with its planned production rate of 500,000 cars per year. It'll have a huge footprint, stretching 107 NFL football fields in total. Whether company can deliver on time, and under budget, is another matter entirely. Tesla is ambitious, but already has a reputation for missing its delivery targets. It's also had to recall both the Model S and Model X over potential defects and safety concerns. Here's hoping the factory goes a little more smoothly.
