Tesla has not provided a more specific timetable for ramping up the RiverBend factory, instead tying the launch of manufacturing in Buffalo to whenever it is that the pilot production phase in California is completed. How well that goes – and it could take longer than expected if the pilot manufacturing process proves to be more difficult than anticipated – will affect how rapidly production shifts to Buffalo.

Tesla has pledged to create 500 manufacturing jobs at the factory, along with nearly 1,000 other positions in various support, sales and administrative roles in Buffalo. The pace of hiring is likely to be gradual as the factory ramps up its production, hitting full capacity in 2019.

For now, Tesla and its partner, Panasonic, have posted openings for more than two dozen different positions at the 1-million-square-foot facility in Buffalo, ranging from top engineering and management jobs to maintenance technicians. Some of the job postings for high-ranking positions indicate that candidates potentially will spend two to four months working at the pilot production site in Fremont, Calif., before moving to Buffalo as production at RiverBend begins.

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