Elon Musk sometimes seems more like a comic-book character than an actual person. First of all, his name is Elon Musk. Secondly, he is an engineer and inventor who runs a company (Tesla Motors) known for turning out extraordinary gadgets. And most of all, he is a billionaire on a mission to save the world,like a less witty version of Tony Stark.
Through the years, Musk has pursued numerous projects of varying degrees of ambition, most recently making headlines for an initiative to colonize Mars. However, Musk’s reputation for outlandishness belies the fact that Tesla Motors is meeting an urgent need, developing the sustainable cars and energy solutions of the future.
Rendering of the completed project; via Tesla
Now Musk’s company has a new home base to carry out its important work: a “Gigafactory” for producing batteries deep in the Nevada desert. The factory commenced operations on July 27 this year, but it is far from complete, and construction is expected to continue for the next several years.
This structure’s standout feature is its size: The completed Gigafactory is projected to be the largest building in the world by footprint. To celebrate the opening of this momentous facility, we have assembled a list of 10 amazing Gigafactory facts (Gigafacts?) to get you up to speed:
1. Only 14 percent of the building is complete. However, this was enough space for production operations to be put in motion. Construction will continue as operations go ahead in the completed wings.
2. The remaining 86 percent of the facility is expected to be completed in 2020.
3. Located on a 3,200-acre lot and containing 5.8 million square feet (539,000 square meters) of operational space, the Gigafactory’s mammoth footprint is without precedent.
A big footprint: Workers lay the foundation for the grand facility in November 2014; via Tesla.
4. The entire project is projected to cost over $5 billion, with funding coming from Musk’s own fortune, Tesla’s developmental partner Panasonic and individual investors.
5. 1,000 construction workers are currently working on the project, which is two years ahead of schedule.
Projects currently underway at the Gigafactory are often classified; via KALW.
6. Many of the products currently being developed here are classified. When the BBC took a tour of the factory, it was instructed not to ask questions about the work that was underway.
7. The impetus for the Gigafactory was Musk’s frustration at the need to ship parts between different assembly locations. The new facility will be large enough for every stage of production to take place at the same site. “Where the shipping costs start to become significant, the obvious way to combat that is to at least put a Gigafactory on the same continent,” explained Musk.
How some of the world’s tallest buildings would look laid alongside Tesla’s new factory. Infographic viaEvobsession
8. The facility will eventually have 6,000 employees.
9. While Tesla has many products, the focus of this facility will be batteries. The building aims to provide 35 gigawatt-hours of battery power by 2018. That is more than the combined global production of batteries in 2014. Production could increase to 150 gigawatt-hours.
The Powerwall home battery is one of many useful products in development at Tesla; via KALW.