This One Stat Explains Why Tesla Has No Choice But To Build The Gigafactory
Apr 3, 2014, 02:41 IST
Screenshot from NetflixThe fate of Tesla's Gigafactory, which the company hopes will begin pumping out lithium ion batteries to power its cars, remains uncertain after Panasonic confirmed it had was not collaborating on the project, despite reports to the contrary.
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Obviously, a scuttled Gigafactory would be bad news for the electric auto maker.
How bad?
The Wall Street Journal's Mike Ramsey can tell us:
Tesla's growth in 2013 was held back by a lack of batteries. Supplier Panasonic Corp is hoping to remedy that with a supply of two billion cells. But those may not be enough once Tesla introduces its higher-volume Gen III vehicle. Tesla, with sales of just over 22,400 cars last year, is already the largest buyer of lithium-ion battery cells in the world. With plans to sell 500,000 vehicles, its own demand would be greater than the demand for every laptop, mobile phone and tablet sold in the world.Presumably Tesla has some kind of backup plan. But the uncertainty must surely be wearing on them.