Tesla Motors announced Thursday that it has chosen the city of Reno as the first potential spot for its anticipated $5 billion "gigafactory" for electric car batteries.
The location was revealed in a letter written by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, to shareholders along with the electric car company's results from the second quarter, according to Forbes.
While Musk said Tesla broke ground at the Reno spot last month, he made sure to add that the site "could be" the final location for the gigafactory.
The Palo Alto-based company said several other locations are being considered for the facility, such as California, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, San Jose Mercury News reported.
Reno was rumored to be a possible location after photos of the construction site, code named "Project Tiger," were released by an electric-vehicle advocate in Nevada. However, Tesla is still looking at other candidates and trying to get the best tax and incentive package from the competing states at the same time.
"We want to make sure the gigafactory deal is compelling for all parties," Musk said in a conference call with analysts. "In Nevada, the ball is in the court of the governor and the state legislature."
Musk added that Tesla had finished putting together the construction pad, or cleared plant site, of the gigafactory in Nevada, and that it would be followed by putting up the plant's floor and frame. He also said the company would do similar preparation for sites in two other states, but didn't mention the names of these states.
"It makes sense to have multiple states going in parallel," Musk said. "We want to make sure things are sorted out at the state level, (and that) incentives are there," he added, in regards to pouring concrete.
In addition to the Reno announcement, Tesla also revealed Thursday that it has formed a partnership on the gigafactory with Panasonic, the Japanese electronics company from which Tesla buys lithium-ion battery cells for its Model S vehicles. These battery cells were designed specifically for electric cars, and over 7,000 of them are used to power each Model S.
The automaker is looking to use the gigafactory to bring down the cost of battery packs, an important factor in making electric cars affordable. The battery packs made at the factory will be used for Tesla's Model 3 cars, which the company plans to sell for around $35,000.
