Connect with us
Tesla-SolarCity plant at Riverbend in South Buffalo. [Source: Derek Gee/Buffalo News] Tesla-SolarCity plant at Riverbend in South Buffalo. [Source: Derek Gee/Buffalo News]

Energy

Tesla Gigafactory 2 in NY ready to hire ahead of Solar Roof production

Source: Tesla

Published

on

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:

Advertisement
  • 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.

Buffalo

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

I'm an East Coast reporter for Teslarati. Contact me at matt@teslarati.com

Advertisement
Comments

Energy

Tesla launches Cybertruck vehicle-to-grid program in Texas

The initiative was announced by the official Tesla Energy account on social media platform X.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla has launched a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) program in Texas, allowing eligible Cybertruck owners to send energy back to the grid during high-demand events and receive compensation on their utility bills. 

The initiative, dubbed Powershare Grid Support, was announced by the official Tesla Energy account on social media platform X.

Texas’ Cybertruck V2G program

In its post on X, Tesla Energy confirmed that vehicle-to-grid functionality is “coming soon,” starting with select Texas markets. Under the new Powershare Grid Support program, owners of the Cybertruck equipped with Powershare home backup hardware can opt in through the Tesla app and participate in short-notice grid stress events.

During these events, the Cybertruck automatically discharges excess energy back to the grid, supporting local utilities such as CenterPoint Energy and Oncor. In return, participants receive compensation in the form of bill credits. Tesla noted that the program is currently invitation-only as part of an early adopter rollout.

Advertisement

The launch builds on the Cybertruck’s existing Powershare capability, which allows the vehicle to provide up to 11.5 kW of power for home backup. Tesla added that the program is expected to expand to California next, with eligibility tied to utilities such as PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E.

Powershare Grid Support

To participate in Texas, Cybertruck owners must live in areas served by CenterPoint Energy or Oncor, have Powershare equipment installed, enroll in the Tesla Electric Drive plan, and opt in through the Tesla app. Once enrolled, vehicles would be able to contribute power during high-demand events, helping stabilize the grid.

Tesla noted that events may occur with little notice, so participants are encouraged to keep their Cybertrucks plugged in when at home and to manage their discharge limits based on personal needs. Compensation varies depending on the electricity plan, similar to how Powerwall owners in some regions have earned substantial credits by participating in Virtual Power Plant (VPP) programs.

Continue Reading

Cybertruck

Tesla updates Cybertruck owners about key Powershare feature

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla is updating Cybertruck owners on its timeline of a massive feature that has yet to ship: Powershare with Powerwall.

Powershare is a bidirectional charging feature exclusive to Cybertruck, which allows the vehicle’s battery to act as a portable power source for homes, appliances, tools, other EVs, and more. It was announced in late 2023 as part of Tesla’s push into vehicle-to-everything energy sharing, and acting as a giant portable charger is the main advantage, as it can provide backup power during outages.

Cybertruck’s Powershare system supports both vehicle-to-load (V2L) and vehicle-to-home (V2H), making it flexible and well-rounded for a variety of applications.

However, even though the feature was promised with Cybertruck, it has yet to be shipped to vehicles. Tesla communicated with owners through email recently regarding Powershare with Powerwall, which essentially has the pickup act as an extended battery.

Powerwall discharge would be prioritized before tapping into the truck’s larger pack.

However, Tesla is still working on getting the feature out to owners, an email said:

“We’re writing to let you know that the Powershare with Powerwall feature is still in development and is now scheduled for release in mid-2026. 

This new release date gives us additional time to design and test this feature, ensuring its ability to communicate and optimize energy sharing between your vehicle and many configurations and generations of Powerwall. We are also using this time to develop additional Powershare features that will help us continue to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”

Owners have expressed some real disappointment in Tesla’s continuous delays in releasing the feature, as it was expected to be released by late 2024, but now has been pushed back several times to mid-2026, according to the email.

Foundation Series Cybertruck buyers paid extra, expecting the feature to be rolled out with their vehicle upon pickup.

Cybertruck’s Lead Engineer, Wes Morrill, even commented on the holdup:

He said that “it turned out to be much harder than anticipated to make powershare work seamlessly with existing Powerwalls through existing wall connectors. Two grid-forming devices need to negotiate who will form and who will follow, depending on the state of charge of each, and they need to do this without a network and through multiple generations of hardware, and test and validate this process through rigorous certifications to ensure grid safety.”

It’s nice to see the transparency, but it is justified for some Cybertruck owners to feel like they’ve been bait-and-switched.

Continue Reading

Energy

Tesla starts hiring efforts for Texas Megafactory

Tesla’s Brookshire site is expected to produce 10,000 Megapacks annually, equal to 40 gigawatt hours of energy storage.

Published

on

Tesla's Megapack Factory in Lathrop, CA (Credit: Tesla)

Tesla has officially begun hiring for its new $200 million Megafactory in Brookshire, Texas, a manufacturing hub expected to employ 1,500 people by 2028. The facility, which will build Tesla’s grid-scale Megapack batteries, is part of the company’s growing energy storage footprint. 

Tesla’s hiring efforts for the Texas Megafactory are hinted at by the job openings currently active on the company’s Careers website.

Tesla’s Texas Megafactory

Tesla’s Brookshire site is expected to produce 10,000 Megapacks annually, equal to 40 gigawatt hours of energy storage, similar to the Lathrop Megafactory in California. Tesla’s Careers website currently lists over 30 job openings for the site, from engineers, welders, and project managers. Each of the openings is listed for Brookshire, Texas.

The company has leased two buildings in Empire West Business Park, with over $194 million in combined property and equipment investment. Tesla’s agreement with Waller County includes a 60% property tax abatement, contingent on meeting employment benchmarks: 375 jobs by 2026, 750 by 2027, and 1,500 by 2028, as noted in a report from the Houston Business Journal. Tesla is required to employ at least 1,500 workers in the facility through the rest of the 10-year abatement period. 

Advertisement

Tesla’s clean energy boom

City officials have stated that Tesla’s arrival marks a turning point for the Texas city, as it highlights a shift from logistics to advanced clean energy manufacturing. Ramiro Bautista from Brookshire’s economic development office, highlighted this in a comment to the Journal

“(Tesla) has great-paying jobs. Not just that, but the advanced manufacturing (and) clean energy is coming to the area,” he said. “So it’s not just your normal logistics manufacturing. This is advanced manufacturing coming to this area, and this brings a different type of job and investment into the local economy.”

Continue Reading