Tesla has doubled the workers on its $5 billion state-of-the-art Gigafactory it is building in the country's largest industrial park located in the Nevada desert. It is trying to finish construction before the launch of its Model 3 electric car. The $33,000 e-car is set to be a more affordable electric vehicle (EV) than its Model S sedan and Model X SUV. A labor force of about 1,000 workers is keeping up construction of the factory for lithium-ion battery cells seven days a week.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the news. Tesla hopes to finish the big factory's construction by early 2017.
The company has been completing the factory in construction phases. It will be able to manufacture lithium batteries before electric cars.
Tesla officially opened the new Gigafactory on July 26, Tuesday. Construction started about two years ago and is about 14 percent finished.
In fact, the factory is already producing battery packs. However, the company must purchase the lithium-ion cells from Japanese electronics giant Panasonic.
Gigafactory 1 will be one of the largest buildings in the world when it is finished. It will be about 10 million square feet (929,000 square meters).
Tesla's new factory could nearly double global production of lithium-ion batteries. The company claims it will also reduce the cost of lithium batteries by over one-third.
Tesla hopes to focus its business on producing affordable all-electric cars, pickup trucks, and semi-trucks. The California-based company also operates solar energy storage company Tesla Powerwall, which produces eco-friendly energy for homes and business.
Last month Tesla CEO Elon Musk released part two of the company's "Master Plan." It included some business strategies for the next several years.
Musk explained that the future of green energy is the ability to quickly scale up production runs. That explains why Tesla is focusing on Gigafactory 1 in order to make the factory into a product itself, according to CNBC. Tesla admitted that it has recently had problems meeting consumer demand.
The company hopes to produce 500,000 EVs per year by 2018, which is two years earlier than the original schedule.
In related news, industry reaction to Tesla's Master Plan has been mixed. The business plan included ideas such as car-sharing for fully autonomous vehicles (AV).
Some analysts argued the plans were unspectacular compared to other companies' plans for EVs and AVs. Others questioned if the company could reach its goals and earn profits for Tesla shareholders, according to Green Car Reports.
Here's a video on Tesla's Master Plan: