

Energy
Tesla under the gun to create jobs at Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo, NY as countdown begins
Tesla’s Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo, NY was dubbed fully complete by state and company officials this past April, starting a countdown clock for Tesla to provide 1,460 jobs to Buffalo, NY within the next two years. Failure to do so could result in fines of up to $41.2 million for every year that it does not meet this employment goal.
When Tesla received support from the state worth $750 million to build and equip the solar factory, the company committed to providing 5,000 jobs to the state of New York within the next ten years. These job-creation targets have evolved over the years, particularly when SolarCity was acquired by Tesla. The state of New York’s original agreement with SolarCity required the company to provide 1,460 jobs at the solar factory and another 1,440 jobs at suppliers and service providers in the Buffalo region. This gave SolarCity a target of providing 2,900 jobs for local workers.
Once Tesla took over, the requirement to bring in 1,440 suppliers was waived by the state. The revised agreement with New York included requirements for Tesla to create 1,460 jobs in Buffalo within two years after the factory is complete, including 500 manufacturing jobs at Gigafactory 2. In a statement to The Buffalo News, Tesla officials stated that the company had already surpassed the first employment target — one that required Tesla to create 500 jobs by April 2019. By meeting this target, Tesla is now tasked to more than double the number of jobs it created so far, in order to meet the state’s April 2020 deadline.
Tesla’s Gigafactory 2 might seem almost dormant amidst the company’s push to ramp the production of the Model 3, but the electric car and energy company maintains that it intends to produce its solar products at a larger scale in the Buffalo facility within the coming quarters. Before its Q2 2018 earnings call, CTO JB Straubel stated that Tesla is “aggressively ramping” the production of its residential solar products, which are manufactured at the New York factory. Straubel also stated that production of the Solar Roofs are expected to accelerate in 2019, as residential installations of the shingles are rolled out to reservation holders.
The Tesla executive reiterated this statement in the company’s second-quarter earnings call, stating that while the company’s electric car business is bigger today, the growth of Tesla Energy is faster. Elon Musk even noted that Tesla Energy would likely catch up to the electric car business’ size in the future.
“Yeah, if you extrapolate energy growth rate, well, obviously, if you extrapolate anything when that triples for a year pretty soon becomes the size of the universe, but long-term we would expect the energy business to catch up to the auto business in size,” Musk said.
Tesla’s Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo, NY is tasked with the production of the company’s Solar Roof tiles, which, together with the Powerwall 2 home battery, are part of the company’s initiative to help customers achieve “sustainable energy independence.” At full capacity, Tesla’s Gigafactory 2 is expected to manufacture 1 GW worth of solar products every year. In classic Elon Musk fashion, the CEO gave a more optimistic forecast for the facility back in 2016, stating that he estimates the factory to be capable of producing as much as 10 GW worth of solar products annually.
Energy
Tesla Lathrop Megafactory celebrates massive Megapack battery milestone
The Tesla Megapack is the backbone of Tesla Energy’s battery deployments.

The Tesla Lathrop Megafactory recently achieved a new milestone. As per the official Tesla Megapack account on X, the Lathrop Megafactory has produced its 15,000th Megapack 2 XL battery.
15,000 Megapack Batteries
Tesla celebrated the milestone with a photo of the Lathrop Megafactory team posing with a freshly produced Megapack battery. To commemorate the event, the team held balloons that spelled out “15,000” as they posed for the photo.
The Tesla Megapack is the backbone of Tesla Energy’s battery deployments. Designed for grid-scale applications, each Megapack offers 3.9 MWh of energy and 1.9 MW of power. The battery is extremely scalable, making it perfect for massive energy storage projects.
More Megafactories
The Lathrop Megafactory is Tesla’s first dedicated facility for its flagship battery storage system. It currently stands as the largest utility-scale battery factory in North America. The facility is capable of producing 10,000 Megapack batteries every year, equal to 40 GWh of clean energy storage.
Thanks to the success of the Megapack, Tesla has expanded its energy business by building and launching the Shanghai Megafactory, which is also expected to produce 40 GWh of energy storage per year. The ramp of the Shanghai Megafactory is quite impressive, with Tesla noting in its Q1 2025 Update Letter that the Shanghai Megafactory managed to produce over 100 Megapack batteries in the first quarter alone.
Tesla Energy’s Potential
During the first quarter earnings call, CEO Elon Musk stated that the Megapack is extremely valuable to the energy industry.
“The Megapack enables utility companies to output far more total energy than would otherwise be the case… This is a massive unlock on total energy output of any given grid over the course of a year. And utility companies are beginning to realize this and are buying in our Megapacks at scale,” Musk said.
Energy
Tesla Megapacks powers the xAI Colossus supercomputer
Tesla Megapacks step in to stabilize xAI’s Colossus supercomputer, replacing natural gas turbines. Musk’s ventures keep intertwining.

Tesla Megapack batteries will power the xAI Colossus supercomputer in Memphis to ensure power stability. The collaboration between Tesla and xAI highlights the synergy among Elon Musk’s ventures.
The artificial intelligence startup has integrated Tesla Megapacks to manage outages and demand surges, bolstering the facility’s reliability. The Greater Memphis Chamber announced that Colossus, recently connected to a new 150-megawatt electric substation, is completing its first construction phase. This transition addresses criticism from environmental justice groups over the initial use of natural gas turbines.
“The temporary natural gas turbines that were being used to power the Phase I GPUs prior to grid connection are now being demobilized and will be removed from the site over the next two months.
“About half of the operating turbines will remain operating to power Phase II GPUs of xAI until a second substation (#22) already in construction is completed and connected to the electric grid, which is planned for the Fall of 2025, at which time the remaining turbines will be relegated to a backup power role,” the Chamber stated.
xAI’s rapid development of Colossus reflects its ambition to advance AI capabilities, but the project has faced scrutiny for environmental impacts. The shift to Megapacks and grid power aims to mitigate these concerns while ensuring operational continuity.
The Megapack deployment underscores the collaboration among Musk’s companies, including Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and The Boring Company. Tesla appears to be the common link between all of Musk’s companies. For example, The Boring Company built a tunnel in Giga, Texas. In addition, Musk has hinted at a potential collaboration between the Tesla Optimus Bot and Neuralink. And from January 2024 to February 2025, xAI invested $230 million in Megapacks, per a Tesla filing.
Tesla Energy reported a 156% year-over-year increase in Q1 2025, deploying 10.4 GWh of storage products, including Megapacks and Powerwalls. Tesla’s plans for a new Megapack factory in Waller County, Texas, which is expected to create 1,500 jobs in the area, further signal its commitment to scaling energy solutions.
As xAI leverages Tesla’s Megapacks to power Colossus, the integration showcases Musk’s interconnected business ecosystem. The supercomputer’s enhanced stability positions xAI to drive AI innovation, while Tesla’s energy solutions gain prominence, setting the stage for broader technological and economic impacts.
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.
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