---
title: "Tesla’s Gigafactory Has Begun Cranking Out Batteries"
description: "But they won’t be making their way into cars just yet."
date: "2017-01-04"
modified: "2017-01-05"
authors:
  - name: "Will Sabel Courtney"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/will-sabel-courtney"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/6806/teslas-gigafactory-has-begun-cranking-out-batteries"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Electric Cars"
  - "Gigafactory"
  - "Panasonic"
  - "Tesla"
---

# Tesla’s Gigafactory Has Begun Cranking Out Batteries

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/archive-images/gigafactory-tesla-in-production-batteries-hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

After years of contention and construction, the Gigafactory is in business. In a blog post today, [Tesla announced that its giant Nevada battery plant has officially begun cranking out the cells](<https://www.tesla.com/blog/battery-cell-production-begins-gigafactory>) that form the building blocks of the company’s future.

While an initial test run of the cylindrical battery cells was fired off last month, production of the consumer-ready versions begins today, the company said. But in spite of the continually-escalating stakes in the electric car power storage race—witness [the 130-kilowatt-hour battery pack in Faraday Future’s new FF 91](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/6793/is-there-a-merger-in-faraday-futures-future>)—these new battery cells won’t be heading to Tesla’s automotive models just yet. Instead, the first batches will be used in the company’s static products, the Powerwall 2 (a home energy storage system) and the Powerpack 2 (a battery pack for larger-scale commercial and utility use). Come the second quarter of this year, the company plans to start cranking out battery cells for the forthcoming Model 3, [which is expected (cough, cough) to reach initial customers later this year](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/2881/tesla-likely-to-struggle-meeting-model-3-production-demands>).

The so-called “2170” cell being made at the Gigafactory was jointly developed by Tesla and Panasonic, which is partnering with the Silicon Valley automaker-slash-power-storage-company on a variety of projects. The company isn’t saying much about their 2170’s secrets, but back in November, Tesla CEO Elon Musk described the cell—which is slightly larger than a 12-gauge shotgun shell—as [“the best cell in the world that is also the cheapest cell,”](<https://electrek.co/2016/11/02/tesla-panasonic-2170-battery-cell-highest-energy-density-cell-world-cheapest-elon-musk/>) suggesting the company has found a way to offer more capacity than comparable products without jacking up the price.

While the Gigafactory has begun turning out products, it’s far from complete; Tesla says the Reno-area facility is only 30 percent finished. That said, even at less than one-third done, [the building has just shy of 5 million square feet of operational space—more than 100 football fields’ worth](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/4587/inside-teslas-gigafactory>). Once completed, the Gigafactory will reportedly be the world’s largest building, and be capable of cranking out 35 gigawatt-hours of battery capacity every year.

## Author
Will is the former managing editor of *RIDES Magazine* and the former online editor for *0-60 Magazine*. He has worked for *Time Out New York* and *Rolling Stone*, and was the creator of *College Cars Online*, the first automotive blog specifically targeted at college students and young professionals.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/willsabelcourtney>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/willscourtney>)