Electric vehicle giant Tesla has reportedly hired Michael Hildebrand as the “Leader of Gigafactory Nevada Expansion Engineering and Construction,” as indicated in his LinkedIn profile.
For context, Michael Hildebrand has been in the pharmaceutical industry for the past 30 years. He apparently headed multiple production projects in this career path. His latest 19 years in this industry was at Eli Lilly, where he served as project executive director.
As indicated in his LinkedIn profile, he is a “highly motivated manufacturing operations leader with extensive capital project leadership and pharmaceutical manufacturing operations senior leadership experience.”
Considering his expertise in manufacturing projects, he may significantly aid Tesla in accelerating the Gigafactory Nevada’s expansion announced more than seven months ago.
Giga Nevada expansion
In January, Tesla initially announced plans to invest a whopping $3.6 billion to expand its Gigafactory Nevada. As part of this expansion project, the automaker aims to erect two new manufacturing areas for the Tesla Semi and 4680 battery cell’s production ramp-up.
Tesla claims that its planned 4680 battery cell plant will initially generate 100 Gigawatt-hours capacity annually to support the production of 1.5 million light-duty vehicle batteries.
That production output would gradually increase to a maximum of 500 GWh per year, as Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised.
Notably, Tesla has already completed Giga Nevada’s expansion by 30%. It currently produces battery cells with its Japanese battery partner Panasonic. It also previously included the production of Megapacks. However, Tesla reportedly decided to relocate its production to the Lathrop Megafactory.
See Also:
- Panasonic to expand battery output at Tesla’s Gigafactory Nevada
- Tesla’s 4680-type battery cell hits 10 million unit production mark at Giga Texas
- Tesla halts Megapack production in Nevada to pursue new prospects
- In Nevada, Tesla Plans To Produce 500 GWh Annual
- Tesla announces 500 GWh annual production target of 4680 battery cells in Nevada
Tesla expects Gigafactory Nevada to boost its Tesla Semi and 4680 battery cell production. It will efficiently supply the company with the said products to meet customers’ demands.
That said, this expansion project is crucial for the company. Hopefully, Hildebrand’s leadership will finally bring Tesla some improvements.
