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 is the world’s top global battery storage system provider again
Tesla Energy captured 15% of the battery storage segment’s global market share in 2024.

Tesla Energy held its top position in the global battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market for the second consecutive year, capturing 15% of global market share in 2024, as per Wood Mackenzie’s latest rankings.
Tesla Energy’s lead, however, is shrinking, as Chinese competitors like Sungrow are steadily increasing their global footprint, particularly in European markets.
Tesla Energy dominates in North America, but its lead is narrowing globally
Tesla Energy retained its leadership in the North American market with a commanding 39% share in 2024. Sungrow, though still ranked second in the region, saw its share drop from 17% to 10%. Powin took third place, even if the company itself filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, as noted in a Solar Power World report.
On the global stage, Tesla Energy’s lead over Sungrow shrank from four points in 2023 to just one in 2024, indicating intensifying competition. Chinese firm CRRC came in third worldwide with an 8% share.
Wood Mackenzie ranked vendors based on MWh shipments with recognized revenue in 2024. According to analyst Kevin Shang, “Competition among established BESS integrators remains incredibly intense. Seven of the top 10 vendors last year struggled to expand their market share, remaining either unchanged or declining.”

Chinese integrators surge in Europe, falter in U.S.
China’s influence on the BESS market continues to grow, with seven of the global top 10 BESS integrators now headquartered in the country. Chinese companies saw a 67% year-over-year increase in European market share, and four of the top 10 BESS vendors in Europe are now based in China. In contrast, Chinese companies’ market share in North America dropped more than 30%, from 23% to 16% amid Tesla Energy’s momentum and the Trump administration’s policies.
Wood Mackenzie noted that success in the global BESS space will hinge on companies’ ability to adapt to divergent regulations and geopolitical headwinds. “The global BESS integrator landscape is becoming increasingly complex, with regional trade policies and geopolitical tensions reshaping competitive dynamics,” Shang noted, pointing to Tesla’s maintained lead and the rapid ascent of Chinese rivals as signs of a shifting industry balance.
“While Tesla maintains its global leadership, the rapid rise of Chinese integrators in Europe and their dominance in emerging markets like the Middle East signals a fundamental shift in the industry. Success will increasingly depend on companies’ ability to navigate diverse regulatory environments, adapt to local market requirements, and maintain competitive cost structures across multiple regions,” the analyst added.
Energy
Tesla inks multi-billion-dollar deal with LG Energy Solution to avoid tariff pressure
Tesla has reportedly secured a sizable partnership with LGES for LFP cells, and there’s an extra positive out of it.

Tesla has reportedly inked a multi-billion-dollar deal with LG Energy Solution in an effort to avoid tariff pressure and domesticate more of its supply chain.
Reuters is reporting that Tesla and LGES, a South Korean battery supplier of the automaker, signed a $4.3 billion deal for energy storage system batteries. The cells are going to be manufactured by LGES at its U.S. factory located in Michigan, the report indicates. The batteries will be the lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, chemistry.
Tesla delivers 384,000 vehicles in Q2 2025, deploys 9.6 GWh in energy storage
It is a move Tesla is making to avoid buying cells and parts from overseas as the Trump White House continues to use tariffs to prioritize domestic manufacturing.
LGES announced earlier today that it had signed a $4.3 billion contract to supply LFP cells over three years to a company, but it did not identify the customer, nor did the company state whether the batteries would be used in automotive or energy storage applications.
The deal is advantageous for both companies. Tesla is going to alleviate its reliance on battery cells that are built out of the country, so it’s going to be able to take some financial pressure off itself.
For LGES, the company has reported that it has experienced slowed demand for its cells in terms of automotive applications. It planned to offset this demand lag with more projects involving the cells in energy storage projects. This has been helped by the need for these systems at data centers used for AI.
During the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja confirmed that the company’s energy division had been impacted by the need to source cells from China-based suppliers. He went on to say that the company would work on “securing additional supply chain from non-China-based suppliers.”
It seems as if Tesla has managed to secure some of this needed domestic supply chain.
Energy
Tesla Shanghai Megafactory produces 1,000th Megapack for export to Europe
The Shanghai Megafactory was able to hit this milestone less than six months after it started producing the Megapack.

Tesla Energy has announced a fresh milestone for its newest Megapack factory. As per the electric vehicle maker, the Shanghai Megafactory has successfully produced its 1,000th Megapack battery.
The facility was able to hit this milestone less than six months after it started producing the grid-scale battery system.
New Tesla Megapack Milestone
As per Tesla Asia in a post on its official accounts on social media platform X, the 1,000th Megapack unit that was produced at the Shanghai Megafactory would be exported to Europe. As noted in a CNEV Post report, Tesla’s energy products are currently deployed in over 65 countries and regions globally. This allows Tesla Energy to compete in energy markets that are both emerging and mature.
To commemorate the 1,000th Megapack produced at the Shanghai Megafactory, the Tesla China team posted with the grid-scale battery with celebratory balloons that spelled “Megapack 1000.” The milestone was celebrated by Tesla enthusiasts on social media, especially since the Shanghai Megafactory only started its operations earlier this year.
Quick Megafactory Ramp
The Shanghai Megafactory, similar to Tesla’s other key facilities in China, was constructed quickly. The facility started its construction on May 23, 2024, and it was hailed as Tesla’s first entry storage project outside the United States. Less than a year later, on February 11, 2025, the Shanghai Megafactory officially started producing Megapack batteries. And by March 21, 2025, Tesla China noted that it had shipped the first batch of Megapack batteries from the Shanghai plant to foreign markets.
While the Shanghai Megafactory is still not at the same level of output as Tesla’s Lathrop Megafactory, which produces about 10,000 Megapacks per year, its ramp seems to be quite steady and quick. It would then not be surprising if Tesla China announces the Shanghai Megafactory’s 2,000th Megapack milestone in the coming months.
-
Elon Musk3 days ago
Elon Musk takes aim at Bill Gates’ Microsoft with new AI venture “Macrohard”
-
Elon Musk11 hours ago
Elon Musk argues lidar and radar make self driving cars more dangerous
-
News2 weeks ago
Elon Musk reaffirms Tesla Semi mass production in 2026
-
News2 weeks ago
Tesla plans to use Unreal Engine for driver visualization with crazy upgrade
-
News2 weeks ago
Tesla Model Y L spotted in Europe ahead of expected September China launch
-
Elon Musk2 weeks ago
Tesla warns consumers of huge, time-sensitive change coming soon
-
News1 week ago
Tesla clarifies LA car carrier fire started in diesel semi, not EV batteries
-
News2 weeks ago
Tesla FSD V14 gets tentative release date