Tesla’s Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo, N.Y., is slated to begin production on solar tiles by fall, and partner Panasonic is heading an effort to hire some 300 new employees for positions that range from engineers and technicians to manufacturers.
The Buffalo News reported that Tesla has committed to bring nearly 3,000 jobs to the Buffalo area, and the joint venture with Panasonic is the latest step toward making good on that promise.
Tesla partner Panasonic will be holding three job fairs to recruit skilled workers for the 300 jobs that it plans to fill at the solar-focused Gigafactory. The first hiring event will be held Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. in the Seneca Babcock Community Center, 1168 Seneca St.
Two more hiring events will take place the following weeks:
- July 18, 10:00 a.m. at Erie Community College North, 6205 Main St., Williamsville. The session will be held in Room 100 of Building K.
- July 26, 5:30 p.m. at the Buffalo Education and Training Center, 77 Goodell St.
The $950 million facility will be used to make solar cells for Tesla’s new solar roof tiles, which will feature a sleek design resembling ordinary roof shingles and tiles. According to CEO Elon Musk, buyers in California could see the tile roll out within the next few months.
The factory is scheduled to start production in two months and will reach full production sometime in 2019. As the factory gets up and running, more workers will be hired.
Despite the good news on production, the factory should have already been up and running by this time, according to The Buffalo News. The facility dubbed “Gigafactory 2” has not yet reached full production as initially scheduled due to SolarCity financial woes.
The partnership between Panasonic and Tesla should provide the factory with the proper means to begin production.

Tesla’s new solar roof tiles will be produced at the Gigafactory 2 location. (Source: Tesla)
Tesla is planning to oversee factory operations at the facility, while Panasonic will have the more hands-on role of managing day-to-day production.
Panasonic, the company that also produces battery parts for Tesla in the Nevada Gigafactory, invested $250 million into the facility in a deal that will combine technology from Tesla’s original partnership with Silevo, a California company that was working on high-efficiency solar technology for SolarCity.
Tesla, which has received $750 million in state subsidies, has said it will add 500 manufacturing jobs and nearly 1,000 other jobs in positions ranging from sales to administrative roles in the factory. Tesla also said it will bring 1,440 other jobs associated with factory production to the region, including vendors and suppliers.
Tesla Solar currently amounts to a quarter of the nation’s residential rooftop solar market.
The announcement comes after news earlier this week that solar installations have declined this year in the wake of saturated markets, financial issues at top manufacturers and a targeted lobbying effort from traditional power companies.
As lobbyists grapple in Congress over the laws surrounding this technology, Tesla and Panasonic will continue producing for consumers who want to make the switch to sustainable energy.
Energy
Tesla Energy celebrates one decade of sustainability
Tesla Energy has gone far since its early days, and it is now becoming a progressively bigger part of the company.

Tesla Energy recently celebrated its 10th anniversary with a dedicated video showcasing several of its milestones over the past decade.
Tesla Energy has gone far since its early days, and it is now becoming a progressively bigger part of the company.
Tesla Energy Early Days
When Elon Musk launched Tesla Energy in 2015, he noted that the business is a fundamental transformation of how the world works. To start, Tesla Energy offered the Powerwall, a 7 kWh/10 kWh home battery system, and the Powerpack, a grid-capable 100 kWh battery block that is designed for scalability. A few days after the products’ launch, Musk noted that Tesla had received 38,000 reservations for the Powerwall and 2,500 reservations for the Powerpack.
Tesla Energy’s beginnings would herald its quiet growth, with the company later announcing products like the Solar Roof tile, which is yet to be ramped, and the successor to the Powerwall, the 13.5 kWh Powerwall 2. In recent years, Tesla Energy also launched its Powerwall 3 home battery and the massive Megapack, a 3.9 MWh monster of a battery unit that has become the backbone for energy storage systems across the globe.
Key Milestones
As noted by Tesla Energy in its recent video, it has now established facilities that allow the company to manufacture 20,000 units of the Megapack every year, which should help grow the 23 GWh worth of Megapacks that have already been deployed globally.
The Powerwall remains a desirable home battery as well, with more than 850,000 units installed worldwide. These translate to 12 GWh of residential entry storage delivered to date. Just like the Megapack, Tesla is also ramping its production of the Powerwall, allowing the division to grow even more.
Tesla Energy’s Role
While Tesla Energy does not catch as much headlines as the company’s electric vehicle businesses, its contributions to the company’s bottom line have been growing. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, Tesla Energy deployed 10.4 GWh of energy storage products. Powerwall deployments also crossed 1 GWh in one quarter for the first time. As per Tesla in its Q1 2025 Update Letter, the gross margin for the Energy division has improved sequentially as well.
Elon Musk
Tesla Energy shines with substantial YoY growth in deployments

Tesla Energy shined in what was a weak delivery report for the first quarter, as the company’s frequently-forgotten battery storage products performed extraordinarily well.
Tesla reported its Q1 production, delivery, and deployment figures for the first quarter of the year, and while many were less-than-excited about the automotive side, the Energy division performed well with 10.4 GWh of energy storage products deployed during the first quarter.
This was a 156 percent increase year-over-year and the company’s second-best quarter in terms of energy deployments to date. Only Q4 2024 was better, as 11 GWh was recorded.
Tesla Energy is frequently forgotten and not talked about enough. The company has continued to deploy massive energy storage projects across the globe, and as it recorded 31.5 GWh of deployments last year, 2025 is already looking as if it will be a record-setting year if it continues at this pace.
Tesla Megapacks to back one of Europe’s largest energy storage sites
Although Energy performed well, many investors are privy to that of the automotive division’s performance, which is where some concern lies. Tesla had a weak quarter for deliveries, missing Wall Street estimates by a considerable margin.
There are two very likely reasons as to why this happened: the first is Tesla’s switchover to the new Model Y at its production facilities across the globe. Tesla said it lost “several weeks” of production due to the updating of manufacturing lines as it rolled out a new version of its all-electric crossover.
Secondly, Tesla could be facing some pressure from pushback against the brand, which is what many analysts will say. Despite the publicity of attacks on Tesla drivers and their vehicles, as well as the company’s showrooms, it would be safe to assume that we will have a better picture painted of what the issue is in Q2 after the company reports numbers in July.
If Tesla is still struggling with lackluster delivery figures in Q2 after the Model Y is ramped and deliveries are more predictable and consistent, we could see where the argument for brand damage is legitimate. However, we are more prone to believe the Model Y, which accounts for most of Tesla’s sales, and its production ramp is likely the cause for what happened in Q1.
In what was a relatively bleak quarter, Tesla Energy still shines as the bright spot for the quarter.
Energy
Tesla lands in Texas for latest Megapack production facility

Tesla has chosen the location of its latest manufacturing project, a facility that will churn out the Megapack, a large-scale energy storage system for solar energy projects. It has chosen Waller County, Texas, as the location of the new plant, according to a Commissioners Court meeting that occurred on Wednesday, March 5.
Around midday, members of the Waller County Commissioners Court approved a tax abatement agreement that will bring Tesla to its area, along with an estimated 1,500 jobs. The plant will be located at the Empire West Industrial Park in the Brookshire part of town.
Brookshire also plans to consider a tax abatement for Tesla at its meeting next Thursday.
The project will see a one million square-foot building make way for Tesla to build Megapack battery storage units, according to Covering Katy News, which first reported on the company’s intention to build a plant for its energy product.
CEO Elon Musk confirmed on the company’s Q4 2024 Earnings Call in late January that it had officially started building its third Megapack plant, but did not disclose any location:
“So, we have our second factory, which is in Shanghai, that’s starting operation, and we’re building a third factory. So, we’re trying to ramp output of the stationary battery storage as quickly as possible.”
Tesla plans third Megafactory after breaking energy records in 2024
The Megapack has been a high-demand item as more energy storage projects have started developing. Across the globe, regions are looking for ways to avert the loss of power in the event of a natural disaster or simple power outage.
This is where Megapack comes in, as it stores energy and keeps the lights on when the main grid is unable to provide electricity.
Vince Yokom of the Waller County Economic Development Partnership, commented on Tesla’s planned Megapack facility:
“I want to thank Tesla for investing in Waller County and Brookshire. This will be a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for their Megapack product. It is a powerful battery unit that provides energy storage and support to help stabilize the grid and prevent outages.”
Tesla has had a lease on the building where it will manufacture the Megapacks since October 2021. However, it was occupied by a third-party logistics company that handled the company’s car parts.
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