Tesla’s lithium refinery has been dubbed a “money-printing machine” by Elon Musk; the system is now expected to launch earlier than anticipated and may potentially grow in scale.
According to Electrek, the plant’s main objective is to generate lithium hydroxide, which Tesla may utilize to make battery cells at its Gigafactory in Austin, Texas. A secondary objective is to showcase the capabilities of Tesla’s new, less expensive processing system, which, if successful, has the potential to become the industry standard and completely revolutionize the electric vehicle market.
Musk said in May that the factory would be able to produce enough lithium to sustain the yearly manufacturing of about a million electric vehicles. The company intends to hire roughly 165 full-time workers and is investing $365 million in the plant.
According to Tesla’s prior timeline estimate, construction would be finished in 2024 and manufacturing would start in 2025.
Production may begin as early as next year, according to Tesla’s senior manager of operations, Jason Bevan, suggesting that the timeline has advanced.
At a fair held at the FEMA Dome at Del Mar College’s Windward Campus, Bevan declared, “We will begin commissioning the assets, roughly the first of next year, and that will continue, in earnest, over the first half of next year,” according to KIIITV. “They plan to commence increasing production in the latter part of the upcoming year.”
Bevan hinted about further funding for the establishment. “I think there is ample opportunity for further economic impact beyond just those direct employees that we hire,” he said, adding that they had property that was well-suited for a future extension beyond these first two trains.
Considering that every step taken to streamline the manufacture and sale of electric vehicles is a step toward reducing our collective carbon pollution, Tesla’s investment in cutting-edge technology such as lithium processing should be good news for the environment. As to the Environmental Protection Agency, a typical gas-guzzling car emits over 10,000 pounds of carbon pollution annually. Expanding the number of EVs we can drive benefits the environment because they have far less carbon footprints than other vehicles.
