The South Australian farming community of Jamestown could become a tourist hot spot after Tesla builds the world's largest lithium ion battery nearby.

A historic agreement to build a 100 megawatt battery has been reached between the South Australian Government, Tesla and French renewable company Neoen.

It will store energy from Neoen's Hornsdale Wind Farm near Jamestown.

Tesla boss Elon Musk said the battery would look quite impressive and could become a drawcard for the area.

"It'll actually be a tourist destination for some period of time because you'll just want to see this giant battery farm," he said.

"I think it'll be quite nicely arranged white obelisks. I mean if this got unearthed in the future [people would say], 'What was this, some sort of art exhibit?'

"I think it will have some value as a tourist spot for a while."

The world's biggest storage battery will be a far cry from the sheep sales and farming focus of the Jamestown district. ( ABC News: Annabelle Homer )

Jamestown born and bred, resident Kevin Alcock said locals were excited by Mr Musk's promise.

"I think it's fantastic for the town and the district [for] investment, [it] puts us on the map," he said.

"Anything for country towns is a big, big plus."

Job hopes for locals

Another Jamestown local, Colin Cross, said anything new for the district was welcome.

"It's going to keep some young fellas here instead of going to town looking for jobs," he said.

"It will keep families together, that's my honest thoughts."

Tesla said tens or hundreds of jobs would be created during the construction phase of the battery, which should be completed by December 1 this year.

Premier Jay Weatherill said South Australian company CPP had been awarded the contract to be part of the construction.

"It's a massive installation, so there will obviously be a huge initial input of jobs," Mr Musk said.

"And I think long term, because it'll be three times more powerful than the next biggest battery installation in the world. We're going to also make an effort to have it look good."

Northern Areas Council Mayor Denis Clark said he felt positive about the Jamestown community's future.

"Any jobs in regions is excellent and it's got to be great for the long-term future of our communities," Mr Clark said.

"It's new news, so I will have to wait for a period of time to see what the reaction is — for the regions and for the sustainability of our power, well it has got to be a positive I would've thought."