Tesla Gigafactory Is About To Get A Lot Busier

Tesla Gigafactory (Credit: Tesla )

Tesla has a glut of Model 3 preorders, and it needs to get through them all. Plenty of people have been wondering how, or if, the automaker will do that. Apparently, it involves leveraging the Gigafactory.

Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval took to Twitter to announce the Gigafactory will start churning out electric motors and gearboxes, in addition to batteries. Originally, the building was just supposed to be one huge battery factory. It seems desperate times call for getting creative.

With this news comes about 550 new jobs in Nevada, boosting the economy there. Considering the Gigafactory is only about a third complete, that number is going to keep climbing. By 2020, about 10,000 workers will be at the facility, which is absolutely massive.

This move has to mean Tesla’s Fremont, California factory is currently or soon will be completely maxed out. The fact that the company is having to scramble to meet sharp demand shows what kind of a future it could have, if it pulls off all these deliveries.

So far, Tesla’s delivered just under 200,000 vehicles worldwide. Model 3 pre-orders are just over 370,000. The car should take Tesla from being a niche automaker to a mainstream player. It also means the number of electric cars on the road will explode.