Tesla’s Model 3 could create $20 billion in revenue per year and an annual gross profit of about $5 billion, said CEO Elon Musk.
At a press conference on Tuesday at Tesla’s Gigafactory in the Nevada desert, Musk told reporters, “Things are on track to be able to meet the Model 3 cell production timing in the middle of next year.”
Gigafactory crucial for Model 3 success
For the launch of the Model 3, which will have a starting price of $35,000, the U.S.-based firm has been working quickly to finish the factory in time. So far, it has received about 400,000 preorders for the Model 3. Previously, the company has been criticized for not keeping up with demand.
When fully complete, the full-sized Gigafactory will eventually have the capacity to create enough batteries to power up to 1.5 million cars – almost three times the number Musk initially anticipated. When completed, the enormous manufacturing facility will occupy around 10 million square-feet. Approximately 1.9 million square-feet have been finished so far.
Before 2020, the automaker aims to produce 500,000 cars per year. It will also need to produce lithium-ion battery cells to take care of its customer demands. Presently, Tesla has been buying lithium-ion battery cells from Japan’s Panasonic.
Tesla plans more Gigafactories
Musk said, “Nevada is not paying for this factory,” referring to the subsidies and the tax breaks.
The package Nevada offered the company made up only a minute part of the total cost of the factory, which is approximated at $5 billion. Tesla’s Gigafactory will be funded by Model S and X revenue and a “mild capital raise,” said Musk.
This will not be the last Gigafactory either. Musk believes it will be most effective to put a Gigafactory on every continent where Tesla products are sold. Musk sees the industrial facility as a product itself that it will refine and enhance with each cycle.
Talking of the Powerwall and the Powerpack business – Tesla’s stationary battery packs designed to store power for business structures ad homes respectively – Musk said it would be “as large as the car business for long term.”
“The growth in stationary storage is really under-appreciated,” he said. “That is a super-exponential growth rate.”
On Tuesday, Tesla shares closed down 0.22% at $229.51. Year to date, the stock is down almost 4%, while in the last year, it is down almost 14%.
