The Lathrop Megafactory, which produces Tesla's flagship battery storage units, known as Megapacks, is running at full capacity as the end of the second quarter of 2024 approaches, a recent flyover of the California facility suggested.
This flight was conducted by a Tesla watcher Encountering God in the Wildernesshas been observing the electric vehicle maker's Fremont plant and the Russop Megafactory for many years. The most recent flight by a drone operator on June 28, 2024, revealed a total of 264 megapack batteries in storage at the Russop Megafactory.
The Tesla Megapack is specifically designed for grid use, and as we can see on the official Tesla website, this flagship battery unit is currently offered in two versions: a 2-hour version capable of delivering 1.9 MW of power and 3.9 MWh of energy, and a 4-hour version capable of delivering 1 MW of power and 3.9 MWh of energy.
The price for a two-hour Megapack is $983,370 excluding taxes and installation costs, and the price for a four-hour Megapack is $915,780 excluding taxes and installation costs. With this in mind, the 264 Megapacks that were being installed at the Russop Megafactory during the recent flight are likely worth at least $241.5 million excluding installation costs.
Tesla Energy is less glamorous than the company's electric-vehicle business, but it's a key part of the fast-growing company, and during the company's first-quarter earnings call, Elon Musk emphasized how important the Megapack has become to Tesla's overall business.
“The Tesla team did an incredible job in a challenging environment, with our Megapack energy storage facilities in particular hitting all-time highs in the first quarter and us achieving record profitability for our energy business. And this profitability is poised to continue to increase over the coming quarters and years. It will increase. In fact, we know it will increase. As expected, it will increase at a significantly faster pace than our auto business,” Musk said.
Check out the video below of a drone operator's recent flyover over the Lathrop Megafactory.
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