Tesla and Panasonic jointly issued a statement saying it had agreed to jointly build a large battery factory in the United States "Gigafactory". Tesla will be responsible for the provision and management of land and buildings, Panasonic will install mechanical equipment and manufacturing a lithium-ion battery.

The two sides have yet to finalize all the details of cooperation, but confirmed that Tesla will manage the plant, Matsushita is responsible for a steady supply of lithium-ion batteries. Panasonic will occupy 50% of the plant area, the other half, compared with other major suppliers of Tesla used.

Tesla hope that through large-scale battery production and improve the cost-effectiveness of the battery, to promote mass-market electric vehicles. Capacity planning to 2020 an annual output of 35 GWh and 50 GWh cell battery pack. Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel representation, Gigafactory represents a fundamental change in the production of large-sized battery, it can not only provide support for the Tesla Model 3 cars, but also significantly reduce storage costs. Yoshihiko Yamada, Executive Vice President of Panasonic said, adding that Panasonic lithium-ion batteries are ideal components Tesla electric vehicles, to provide a "high capacity, durability, and cost," I believe in Gigafactory manufacture lithium-ion batteries, can accelerate the electric car market expand.

The facility is expected to cost a total of 40 to 50 billion dollars, Tesla invested at least $ 2 billion.