There’s a lot riding on Tesla’s massive battery plant in Sparks, Nevada.
Tesla’s Gigafactory is producing battery cells for the company’s line of vehicles, which now includes the newly-released Model 3. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the plant will reduce the price of batteries by 30% once its operational, which will help cut costs for its vehicles down the line.
Scroll down for a closer look at Tesla’s massive Gigafactory:
This is the most recent shot of Tesla’s Gigafactory, which is surrounded by mountains in Sparks, Nevada. The Gigafactory will stretch 5.5 million square feet.
The Gigafactory is already producing batteries while construction is ongoing and is slated to reach full capacity by 2018.
A lot of work has been done on the Gigafactory since December. At the time, much of the building was exposed and the roof was not complete.
Tesla and partners like Panasonic will invest a total of $5 billion in the Gigafactory. It will be the biggest lithium-ion battery producer in the world once it’s complete.
“The Gigafactory, when it’s complete, will have the biggest footprint of any building in the world. Counting multiple levels it could be as much as 15 million square feet,” Musk said in an an interview with Leonardo DiCaprio for the documentary “Before the Flood.”
Musk has said he plans to build up to five Gigafactories. One is located in Buffalo, New York and will begin producing cells for Tesla’s solar roof by the end of 2017.
Musk has yet to determine the locations of the other three Gigafactories but is considering spots in Europe and China.
Tesla’s Gigafactory doesn’t only support the electric automaker’s line of vehicles. Tesla has made serious headway on commercial battery pack installation and is planning to build the world’s largest battery in Australia.
Tesla is ahead of the curve with its battery plant construction, but competition is on the way.
Daimler, Mercedes' parent company, broke ground on its second battery plant in Germany in May, which will begin production in 2018. Chinese companies are also reportedly ramping up battery production and are on track to compete with Tesla by 2021, Bloomberg reported.