Amy Alonzo

Fernley Leader-Courier

By the early 2020s, one in every 50 northern Nevadans will work at the Tesla Gigafactory.

That was the prediction made by Tesla factory tour coordinator Adam Kirby during a presentation at a recent Fernley Chamber of Commerce networking breakfast.

The company is expected to create 6,500 jobs in the northern Nevada area, with 22,700 indirect jobs.

“Electric cars used to be lame. People used to buy solar because they could afford it. It was a lifestyle choice,” he said. Now, “nobody settles for Tesla products. They buy them because they’re better.”

The Tesla Gigafactory sits on five square miles of property in Storey County, just over the Lyon County border. At 6 million square-feet, construction on the gigafactory is about one third complete Kirby said. When completed, it is expected to be the largest building footprint in the world.

Battery cells for Tesla’s electric cars are produced at the gigafactory, as well as drivetrains for its Model 3, the company’s first mass-marketed electric car. With a base price of around $35,000, the Model 3 is set to be available later this year.

Tesla has a goal of producing a half million cars per year by the end of 2018.

While Kirby dodged most questions that dealt with specifics about the electric car company, he did say Tesla and Union Pacific Railroad have explored expanding a rail spur to the gigafactory to reduce the number of trucks on USA Parkway and Interstate 80.

He also said the company is looking into producing pickup trucks, SUV’s, heavy duty trucks and high-density passenger urban transport vehicles, such as buses.

“We need to make a truck. That’s coming,” he said. “We have a lot of innovations to come.”