The move is a direct extension of a vision Elon Musk has been building for months. At the World Economic Forum in Davos this past January, Musk announced that both Tesla and SpaceX were independently working to establish 100 gigawatts of annual solar manufacturing capacity inside the United States. Days later, on Tesla’s Q4 2025 earnings call, he made the ambition concrete: “We’re going to work toward getting 100 GW a year of solar cell production, integrating across the entire supply chain from raw materials all the way to finished solar panels.”

Job postings on Tesla’s website reflect that same target, with language explicitly calling for 100 GW of “solar manufacturing from raw materials on American soil before the end of 2028.”

Tesla job listing for Staff Manufacturing Development Engineer, Solar Manufacturing

The urgency behind the latest solar manufacturing target is rooted in a set of rapidly emerging pressures related to AI and Tesla’s own energy business. U.S. power consumption hit its second consecutive record high in 2025 and is projected to climb further through 2026 and 2027, driven largely by the explosion in AI data centers and the broader electrification of transportation. Tesla’s own energy division, which produces the Megapack utility-scale battery storage system, has been growing rapidly, and solar supply is a critical companion component for the business to scale. Musk has argued that solar is not just a clean energy option but the only one that makes economic sense at the scale AI infrastructure demands.

Tesla lands in Texas for latest Megapack production facility

Ironically, the path to domestic solar independence currently runs through China. Sort of.

Despite Tesla’s stated push to localize its supply chain, mirrored recently by the company’s plan for a $4.3 billion LFP battery manufacturing partnership with LG Energy Solution in Michigan, Tesla still relies on China-based suppliers to keep its cost structure intact.

The $2.9 billion equipment deal underscores a tension Musk himself acknowledged at Davos: “Unfortunately, in the U.S. the tariff barriers for solar are extremely high and that makes the economics of deploying solar artificially high, because China makes almost all the solar.” Building the factory in America requires buying the machinery from the country Tesla is trying to reduce its dependence on.

Tesla named by U.S. Gov. in $4.3B battery deal for American-made cells

The regulatory pathway adds another layer of complexity. Suzhou Maxwell has been seeking export approval from China’s commerce ministry, and it remains unclear how quickly that clearance will come. Still, the market has already reacted, with shares in the Chinese firms reportedly involved in the talks surged more than 7% following the Reuters report that broke the story.

Whether Tesla can hit its 2028 target of 100GW of solar manufacturing remains an open question. Though that scale may seem staggering, especially in such a short timeframe, we know that Musk has a documented history of “always pulling it off” in the face of ambitious deadlines that may slip. But, rest assured – it’ll get done.

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Tesla and LG Energy Solution are expanding their partnership to build a LFP prismatic battery cell manufacturing facility in Lansing, Michigan, launching production in 2027. The announcement, made as part of the Indo-Pacific Energy Security Summit results, ends months of speculation.

“American-made cells will power Tesla’s Megapack 3 energy storage systems produced in Houston, creating a robust domestic battery supply chain.”, notes a press release on the U.S. Department of the Interior website.

Tesla starts hiring efforts for Texas Megafactory

Tesla has long utilized China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL), the world’s largest LFP battery maker, as one of its primary suppliers. That relationship made financial sense for years, considering that Chinese LFP cells were cheap, abundant, and reliable. But with escalated tariffs on Chinese imports and an increasingly growing Tesla Energy business that’s particularly reliant on LFP cells for products including its Megapack battery storage units designed for utilities and large-scale commercial projects.

The announcement of a deepened partnership between LG Energy Solution and Tesla has strategic logic for both parties. For Tesla, it secures a tariff-compliant, domestically produced battery supply for its fast-growing energy division. LGES, now producing LFP batteries in Michigan, becomes the only major supplier currently scaling U.S. production, outpacing rivals like Samsung SDI and SK On. LG Energy Solution’s Lansing plant, formerly known as Ultium Cells 3, was previously operated as a joint venture with General Motors. LGES acquired GM’s stake in May 2025 and now fully owns the site, with a production capacity of 50 GWh per year. LG Energy said the contract includes options to extend the supply period by up to seven years and boost volumes based on further consultations.

For the broader industry, the ripple effects are significant. This deal signals that domestic battery manufacturing can be financially viable and not just aspirational. Utilities, energy developers, and rival automakers will take note as American-made LFP supply becomes a competitive reality rather than a distant promise.

For consumers, the benefits will take time but are real. A more resilient, U.S.-based supply chain means fewer price shocks from trade disputes, more stable Megapack availability for the grid storage projects that reduce electricity costs, and long-term downward pressure on energy storage prices as domestic production scales.

Deliveries are set to begin in 2027 and run through mid-2030, and as grid storage demand accelerates, reliable, US-made battery supply is no longer a future ambition. It is becoming a core requirement of the country’s energy strategy.

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In order to accommodate the increase in travel, Tesla has launched four Megapack Chargers in heavily traveled areas of the U.S., offering a mobile Megapack unit along with pre-fabricated Supercharger units. These mobile chargers have been deployed in Bakersfield, California, Primm, Nevada, El Centro, California, and Cambridge, Ohio, and can now be seen on Tesla’s Supercharger map.

Credit: Tesla Charging | X

Credit: Tesla Charging | X

Credit: Tesla Charging | X

Credit: Tesla Charging | X

READ MORE ON SUPERCHARGERS: Tesla set to launch new V4 Cabinet enabling fastest Supercharging speeds yet

While the Bakersfield and Primm mobile charger locations appear to have been added to existing Superchargers, the El Centro and Cambridge sites seem to be standalone sites with eight and 10 stalls, respectively, according to Tesla’s website. The mobile units also seem to offer up to 150kW charging speeds, as detailed on the listings for the latter two chargers.

Tesla has deployed similar mobile Superchargers in the past, recently doing so in October in areas of Florida hit by Hurricane Milton. Other mobile chargers have been spotted as far back as 2019, though the latest units appear to also have benefitted from Tesla’s increasing deployment of pre-fabricated Supercharger units, which the company builds at its Gigafactory in Buffalo, New York.

You can see a diagram of the pre-fab Superchargers below, as shared in recent weeks by Tesla’s North America Director of Charging Max de Zegher. On the left, you can see all the materials needed to build a traditional Supercharging station with four stalls, including the stalls themselves, the charging cabinet, and all the structural items needed. On the right, you’ll see Tesla’s pre-fabricated units, which streamline the installation process and feature a built-in cabinet, stalls, and structure.

Credit: Max de Zegher | X

Tesla reached 60,000 Supercharger stalls worldwide in October, and the company is also readying its rollout of the V4 Supercharging cabinet in 2025, which will enable charging speeds of up to 500 kW for the Cybertruck and up to 1.2 MW for the electric Semi.

The company has also been aiming to make improvements to the existing Supercharger network, with goals to build more stations with pull-through, towing-friendly stalls, and to increase the length of charging cables to help accommodate wider access to the chargers for non-Tesla electric vehicles (EVs).

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Nissan Ariya to gain access to NACS-compatible Tesla Superchargers starting Dec 10

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On Monday, the Tesla Energy account on X reposted an energy deployment milestone from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the vast majority of electrical operations in Texas. According to Tesla and the agency, batteries sent more power to the grid in Texas on August 20 than ever before.

It was also a record-breaking day overall for demand, solar generation, and net load, leading to the record day in battery discharge and indicating the changing energy landscape as the renewable energy storage industry grows.

“Batteries sent more power to the grid in ERCOT than ever before,” wrote ERCOT in the original thread. “Shattering the previous record, battery discharge peaked 20 percent higher than the previous record set only the day before as ERCOT released ECRS fully.”

Batteries sent more power to the grid in @ERCOT_ISO than ever before https://t.co/6s2mWAkyys

— Tesla Energy (@teslaenergy) August 26, 2024

Tesla has been a major player in the energy storage industry, with the company offering two main products for storing generated energy: its grid-scale Megapack batteries, and its smaller home and commercial Powerwall batteries.

Tesla builds its Megapack at a factory, dubbed a “Megafactory,” in Lathrop, California, and it builds the Powerwall at its Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada. The company has also begun construction on its second Megafactory in Shanghai, China, with both facilities aiming for an annual production of 10,000 Megapacks upon reaching volume production.

In the second quarter, Tesla posted a record of 9.4 GWh of battery storage deployed, and the company has already predicted that the sales growth rate of its energy division would outpace that of its automotive business in 2024. Elon Musk also noted last year that the energy arm was quickly becoming the company’s highest-margin business.

Just last week, Tesla also produced a record number of Powerwall battery units at Giga Nevada, after the company surpassed 600,000 Powerwall installations globally in February.

Last August, Tesla was also approved by Texas to pilot its Virtual Power Plant (VPP) program, which lets Powerwall owners sell electricity back to the electrical grid during times of peak demand.

Tesla has also deployed several Megapack batteries in the state, with the company last month landing an over $3 billion contract to build 15.3 GWh of Megapacks across three Texas sites.

Tesla Energy tops list of best energy storage companies

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During Tesla’s Q1 2024 earnings call held last Tuesday, CEO Elon Musk noted that Megapack deployments reached an all-time high, while the company reached a record profit margin of 24.6 percent on its energy business. By comparison, automotive margins in Q1 landed at 18.5 percent.

In addition, the company says it expects this trend to continue, as it predicts energy storage deployments overall to increase at least 75 percent from last year. Deployments also reached record highs in Q1, with Tesla deploying 4.1 GWh total energy storage deployments, as driven by Megapack deliveries.

“The Megapack, in particular, reached an all-time high in Q1, leading to record profitability for the energy business, and that looks likely to continue to increase in the quarters and years ahead,” Musk said during the call. “It will increase—we actually know that it will—significantly faster than the car business, as we expected.”

Tesla Megapacks to help grow 560 MW/2,240MWh battery in Australia

The recent statements come as Tesla continues to ramp Megapack production at its first “Megafactory” in Lathrop, California, and as it’s just beginning construction on a second Megafactory in Shanghai, China. Once they reach volume production, both plants are expected to be able to produce 10,000 Megapacks per year.

“Lathrop is ramping as planned. We have our second GA line allowing us to increase our exit rate from 20 GWh per year at the start of this year to 40 GWh per year by the end of the year,” added Mike Snyder, Tesla’s Senior Megapack Director, during the Q1 2024 call.

“There’s really nothing limiting the ramp. Given the longer sales cycles for these large projects, we typically have order visibility 12 to 24 months prior to ship date, so we’re able to plan the build plan several quarters in advance.”

As Tesla stated during its Q4 2023 earnings call, its energy business is expected to outpace its automotive business this year. The company deployed 15 GWh of batteries in 2023, increasing from just 6.5 GWh in 2022, and Musk has also said that Tesla is expecting triple-digit growth in this area.

Musk also noted last year that the energy business was becoming its highest margin business, with energy and service now contributing over half a billion to the company’s quarterly profit.

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As detailed in a press release from TagEnergy on Tuesday, the Jamesfield Megapack project outside of Abernathy, Scotland is now fully operational, offering 49MW of power and 98MWh of energy storage. TagEnergy also says that sections of the project began powering on in November 2023, as the system was progressively brought online.

Credit: TagEnergy

“Battery energy storage systems are vital for unlocking the full potential of renewable energy in the UK,” said Peter Kavanagh, Harmony Energy CEO. “They play a pivotal role in advancing the Net Zero transition through the reduction of Co2 emissions, and are crucial for securing the future stability of the UK’s energy supply and reducing dependence on foreign gas imports.”

The site features 13 of Tesla’s 2-hour duration Megapacks, utilizing the company’s Autobidder AI for optimizing electricity prices with real-time trading. This is also just the latest of the United Kingdom’s BESS projects to go live in the past few years, following those in Chapel Farm in Luton, England, and Hawkers Hill Energy Park in Shaftesbury in Dorset, England.

The release also adds that Harmony Energy now has an operational portfolio of more than 500MW/1GWh, following the launch of the Jamesfield site.

“We love working with trusted, expert partners who share our passion for a renewables-led energy future,” wrote TagEnergy in a post on LinkedIn. “This is our second JV with Harmony (after Chapel Farm.) And we’re proud to partner again with Tesla (batteries and software) and RES (asset manager) at Jamesfield too.”

Rohan Patel, Tesla Vice President of Public Policy and Business Development, also responded to the news in a post on X:

“I have to admit my skepticism years ago when Elon Musk said that the Tesla Energy business might eventually be bigger than the Tesla vehicle business,” Patel wrote on Tuesday. “As battery costs come down and electricity system operators understand the grid benefits (distribution and transmission), there seems to be no end in sight to the growth trajectory globally.

“Countries and regions with fair market participation rules for storage will end up as the ‘winners’, with more efficient and cheaper electricity grids for all consumers.”

Tesla has continued to ramp up Megapack production at its facility in Lathrop, California, and it’s set to break ground on a new Megafactory in Shanghai, China sometime this year. Both facilities are expected to eventually reach an annual production capacity of about 10,000 Megapacks.

Tesla highlights latest milestone in Megapack energy storage deployment

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Construction has begun on a 250MW/500MWh Tesla Megapack project in Swanbank, Queensland, as part of a partnership on the Swanbank Clean Energy Hub between the company Yurika and public utility organization CleanCo, as detailed in a press release on Monday.

The project will be funded by the Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund, costing around $330 million. The big battery is said to store enough energy to power over two-thirds of the city of Ipswich for two hours each night as demand increases when the sunsets.

“Energy infrastructure is at the core of what we do, and we’re really looking forward to the partnership with CleanCo Queensland, Tesla and of course the local community to reimagine Swanbank through its Clean Energy Hub,” said Belinda Watton, Yurika’s executive general manager.

“Alongside cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy, this publicly owned asset supports the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan, creating jobs for Queenslanders and signals an incredibly positive investment into our clean energy future.”

Expected to be energized by mid-2025, the project is just the latest of Queensland clean energy projects to utilize Tesla’s Megapacks, and it’s being built in the place of a former coal plant. The Megapack project is also just one of a number of renewable energy projects being debuted in Australia, coming as a part of the Miles Labor Government Big Energy Build.

The project is CleanCo’s first big battery storage project, with construction expected to create roughly 60 jobs, while as many as 10 full-time positions will become available when the project goes online.

Another press release from fellow partner CleanCo notes that, while construction has begun on the site, the actual Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), made up by the Megapacks, will be arriving later this year.

“The LNP closed the Swanbank Power Station because power prices were too low, whilst Labor reopened it. Now, we’ve started converting it into one of the state’s first Clean Energy Hubs,” said Mick de Brenni, Queensland Minister for Energy and Clean Economy Jobs.

“This big battery is proof the Miles Government is taking real action to decarbonise our state’s economy in a way that makes cost of living more affordable for Queenslanders.”

In November, a 100MW/200MWh project including 80 Tesla Megapacks was connected to the grid in Chinchilla, Queensland, while major BESS projects in Wandoan and Rockhampton were also commissioned last year, among multiple others still.

Tesla Megapacks go live in Oahu, garnering visit from executive

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On Tuesday, the Tesla Megapack account on X posted that it has reached a milestone of 12 GWh of operating industrial storage at 99 percent availability across its projects.

Congratulations Megapack team on 12 GWh of operating industrial storage at 99% availability! pic.twitter.com/IVsgAprYlS

— Tesla Megapack (@Tesla_Megapack) December 12, 2023

One user with a keen eye spotted that the dirt in one of the photos appears to be photoshopped, though it’s not clear why Tesla or another party would have done so.

In any case, Tesla has been establishing energy storage sites with Megapacks, sometimes a single unit and other times several, in several places globally, including multiple “Big Battery” projects in Australia and Europe, solar projects in California in the U.S., a Panasonic test site in Japan and elsewhere. The company also has Megapacks in use at many of its own facilities, including its Gigafactory in Austin, Texas.

The renewable energy storage systems are typically used to support a region’s electrical grid at times of peak demand or to provide backup power during weather outages, though they can largely be thought of as giant batteries for holding onto generated power.

On its website, Tesla says each Megapack unit can store more than 3 MWh of energy, which it says is enough to power an average of 3,600 homes for one hour. By this metric, the 12 GWh of currently available Megapack storage should be expected to power as many as 14.4 million homes for an hour.

Tesla also says that its Lathrop, California “Megafactory,” which produces the Megapacks, can produce 10,000 units annually, equating to around 40 GWh of clean energy storage.

Updated 1:36 p.m. MT: Corrected calculation in sixth paragraph after incorrectly writing that the Megapacks could power an average of 14,400 homes for an hour.

Tesla Megapack fire in Australia did not start from battery modules: analysis

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The City of San Luis Obispo installed a Tesla Megapack energy storage unit at its water treatment facility, as reported by Paso Robles Daily on Monday. The battery is part of the city’s commitment to “leading by example in climate action work” and its initiative to reach carbon neutrality on city operations by 2030.

“The installation of the Tesla battery system at our water treatment plant is a testament to our city’s commitment to sustainability, innovation, and resilience. I’m proud of the work our team has done to make this vision a reality,” said City Utilities Director Aaron Floyd.

The Megapack was funded with grant funding from the Pacific Gas & Energy’s (PG&E’s) Self-Generation Incentive Program, meaning that the unit was installed at no cost to the community. The battery storage system project began last year and comes as a larger part of the city’s goals to continually modernize its utility equipment.

“This project not only exemplifies the positive impact of grant-funded initiatives but also demonstrates our dedication to providing clean, reliable, and cost-effective services to our community,” Floyd added. “It’s a win-win for both our residents and the environment.”

Additionally, the Megapack was seamlessly installed at the treatment plant, so the site did not experience any operation interruptions. The city has pointed out the following three benefits of the Tesla Megapack:

Three key benefits of the Tesla battery system

1. Smoothing peak energy demand: The water treatment plant relies heavily on energy during equipment start-up and peak operational periods, which can strain the power grid and escalate electrical costs. The Tesla battery system will shift energy demand to the battery during these high-demand periods, effectively reducing spikes in energy consumption and relieving pressure on the PG&E power grid.
2. Optimizing energy use: The Tesla battery can be charged during periods when electricity is cheapest, most abundant, and provided from clean sources such as solar and wind. Once charged during off-peak hours, the battery can be programmed to power operations during peak energy demand periods when power is expensive, the power grid is stressed, and the grid is more reliant on energy from less sustainable sources.
3. Enhancing resilience: When charged, the Tesla battery will be utilized to power the water treatment plant if there is a scheduled or unscheduled loss in PG&E power to the facility. Seamless transition from PG&E power to battery power is important, as it will ensure continuous operation of the facility while reducing the use of the onsite backup diesel generator (further reducing greenhouse gas emissions). The Tesla battery pack is estimated to be capable of operating the entire water treatment plant and the city’s largest water pump station for up to seven hours.

Tesla has deployed its scalable Megapack energy storage systems around the world, recently including projects at a Panasonic testing site in Kyoto, Japan, at the company’s own Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, and a number of projects in Australia, among others still.

The company has also been ramping up production of Megapacks at its Lathrop, California Megafactory and preparing to build a plant for the energy storage systems in Shanghai, China.

Tesla Megapack fire in Australia triggers energy debate

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Drone footage from a Tesla watcher who regularly observes the Fremont Factory recently featured a glimpse at the activities happening in the Lathrop Megafactory. The Megafactory is a dedicated facility that’s designed to produce the Megapack, and its output is expected to hit around 10,000 units per year, as per Tesla’s year-end update on Twitter last December.

As can be seen in the recent drone video, Tesla is currently building out a new storage area for Megapack batteries in the vicinity of the Lathrop Megafactory. So far, it appears that the company has set up spaces for 80 more Megapack batteries in the facility’s new storage area, though its size suggests that more batteries could be kept there as the facility accelerates its production ramp.

Meanwhile, the Megafactory’s initial holding lot for Megapack batteries was practically full when the aerial video was taken. This suggests that Tesla is hitting a steady pace in the Megapack batteries’ production ramp. Considering that each Megapack battery is worth over $2 million with installation fees, a ramp in the production of the Megapack would likely contribute positively to Tesla’s finances in the coming quarters.

If the Lathrop Megafactory is successful in ramping to a production rate of 10,000 Megapack batteries per year, the facility would effectively be able to provide Tesla with sales of over $20 billion. And considering that Tesla Energy products are expected to have healthy margins, partly due to the fact that energy storage units are less complex than electric vehicles, the company’s gross profits from the output of the Lathrop Megafactory’s Megapack batteries would likely be significant.

Watch a drone flyover of Tesla’s Fremont Factory and Lathrop Megafactory in the video below. 

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