Panasonic bets on EV, backs Tesla Gigafactory to take electric cars mainstream

Panasonic Corp. President Kazuhiro Tsuga told MarketWatch: “We are sort of waiting on the demand from Tesla. If Tesla succeeds and the electric vehicle becomes mainstream, the world will be changed and we will have lots of opportunity to grow.” Construction works have started ahead of schedule, with production expected to start in Spring 2016. In a statement, Tesla said: “We have accelerated plans to begin cell production for Tesla Energy products at the Gigafactory by the end of 2016. This is several quarters ahead of our initial plan.”  Tesla expects the initial Nevada plant to produce 35 gigawatt-hours of cells and 50 GWh of battery packs each year by 2020.