It seems that the components needed to produce Tesla Megapacks have been working through their supply chain struggles, as Tesla has been ramping up to produce a lot more of the energy storage behemoths. Well, we don’t have precise confirmation of that, but the company’s California Megapack factory has been on a hiring spree. Why hire a bunch of humans if you aren’t planning to ramp up production?
“The company listed around 50+ new positions in Lathrop within the past week alone,” Maria Merano writes. “About 17 of the jobs Tesla posted in Lathrop the past week mentioned the Megapack or the Megafactory.”
Here’s a look at the most recent job posting on LinkedIn, for a “Production Controller” job:
That said, not all jobs are about production of existing products. The next most recent posting is for a “New Product Introduction” job. Though, that could of course just be an upgrade/improvement to the Megapack.
Whatever Tesla is doing over there in Lathrop, it is hiring a lot of people for it.
For a bit of history in case you missed that (or simply forgot), Tesla broke ground on the Lathrop Megafactory in September 2021. A Megapack ordering page and pricing had launched in July 2021. It’s estimated the Megafactory will create 1,000–2,000 jobs in total.
Leaked audio that CNBC got access to yesterday indicated that “Tesla can now produce 42 giant Megapack batteries in a seven-day rolling period.” But note that Tesla has been producing them at Gigafactory 1 in Nevada. Presumably, Megafactory production will only supplement that — not replace it. “Tesla is on target to produce 442 Megapacks during the third quarter of 2022, representing an 85% growth over Megapack production in the previous three-month period.” Along with those 42 Megapacks a week, Tesla is also producing approximately 6,500 Powerwalls a week.
Megapacks are used for large-scale (aka utility-scale) energy storage, often to supplement and help integrate solar power and wind power projects. Powerwalls are use mostly on a residential or small commercial scale. Both are battery storage systems, but the chemistries are different from the chemistries used in Tesla automobiles. There is so much demand for Tesla’s stationary storage batteries that the company has required anyone buying a Powerwall to pair it with a Tesla solar roof (a conventional solar PV panel roof or a Tesla Solar Roof made out of Tesla’s unique solar tiles).
Tesla Megapacks are being used around the world, with notable and record-breaking projects in Australia, California, New York, and elsewhere. You can read some more Tesla Megapack stories here:
- 1st Tesla Megapack Deployed In NYC, NineDot Launches Community-Scale Bronx Battery Energy Storage Site
- Here’s What Tesla Learned From Last Year’s Megapack Fire In Australia
- PG&E’s Tesla Megapack Is Now Operational
- Tesla Installs Megapacks On Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula
- 81 Tesla Megapacks Are Helping Texas Keep The Grid Stabilized
- Genex Power Will Use 40 Tesla Megapacks For Bouldercombe Battery Project
Image courtesy of Tesla
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