Giga New York

Older version of Tesla Solar Roof (2017), produced at Giga New York

Before Tesla and Panasonic began their partnership in Buffalo, Panasonic already had 30 years of experience producing solar panels.[17] Because SolarCity incorporated the manufacturing process that Silevo had intended to use for production, the partnership allows Tesla to outsource production and reduce its burden on debt.[18] The technology used incorporates nanotechnology, an emerging sector in upstate New York that colleges and universities such as SUNY Poly and Erie Community College have developed programs and research in,[19] with the latter offering semiconductor and nanotechnology programs specifically for employment at the gigafactory.[20] The facility also takes advantage of tax incentives and leasable space from the State of New York. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has also suggested that the company's solar panels could be helpful in humanitarian crises, such as rebuilding the electric grid of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.[21]

In 2015, Solar City's CEO, Lyndon Rive, a cousin of Elon Musk, stated that the new facility would be key to creating a clean energy-manufacturing market, adding that expansion would not be possible at the Riverbend plant, but more likely in the immediate area.[22] While SolarCity operated a production facility in Fremont, California, the Gigafactory provides capacity for 10,000 solar panels per day, equivalent to one gigawatt per year.[23]

The factory began production of solar cells in 2017,[24] and assembly of photovoltaic modules for solar panels, under Panasonic.[3] In January 2018, Tesla announced, after testing on employees' roofs, that it would begin installing its new product on commercial customers' homes "within the next few months".[25] Tesla delayed mass-production of the Solar Roof because of its focus on the ramp up of the Tesla Model 3 and development of a third version of the Solar Roof; in October 2019, it announced that version 3 of the Solar Roof was ready to begin production and ramp up installations over the next several months.[4]

By early 2020 Tesla began commercial installation of version 3 of the Solar Roof product.[5] Tesla has also begun producing charging equipment for its Supercharger network at the factory.[1] In its results for the second and third quarters of 2020, Tesla reported that its solar energy operations were continuing to ramp up, partly because the company reduced the price of its standard solar products below the US industry average as part of a renewed marketing push,[26] and partly as it gained more experience in installing the Solar Roof, hired more solar installers, and also sought growth through third-party installers.[27] After delays in solar deployments due partly to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tesla's 2020 solar deployments grew by 17% in 2020 to 205 megawatts of generating capacity, including 86 megawatts during the fourth quarter, up 59% from the 4th quarter of 2019.[28]

In 2018, Tesla committed to providing 1,460 jobs at the factory by April 2020.[29] By early 2020, that number had increased to 1,834, including 376 Panasonic employees who were planned to leave by September.[6] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, employment at the factory decreased to 474 as of April 30, 2020, and the company requested and received another year (until 2021) to meet its hiring goals.[5] By September 2020, the company had resumed hiring at the factory.[26]

The project has faced criticism and legal actions regarding allegations of inflated job promises, cost overruns, construction delays, bid rigging, a perceived lack of effort from Musk, and claims that the deal was, in effect, a bailout of Musk's cousins Peter and Lyndon Rive.[30][31][32][33]

• Tesla Factory (Fremont)
• Giga Nevada
• Giga Shanghai
• Giga Berlin
• Giga Austin
• Tesla facilities in Tilburg

• Official website