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Tesla's First Gigafactory Site Will Break Ground Next Month (Forbes)

California is back in the running for battery factory that would need geothermal brine by-product lithium as a prime ingredient

Tesla Motors' $5 billion gigafactory project is one of the biggest prizes in the economic development world – and it looks like the company is wasting no time getting started.

Speaking with analysts on Wednesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company will break ground in June on the first of at least two gigafactory locations, and it may launch the second one shortly afterward.

The process is moving faster than a speeding Tesla. Musk only announced plans for the project at the end of February, meaning the public portion of the plant site (or sites) search will have taken about four months.

He did not say which states have been selected as the first and second sites. But he disclosed California may be back in the running to get a gigafactory site. California did not make Tesla’s original list of four Southwest states — Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas — that the company was considering for the big battery plant, which promises to create 6,500 jobs.

Originally, Tesla officials felt that the difficulties in getting permits for new construction, what manufacturers call a “green field site,” would take too long in California, which is known for strict environmental regulations. However, Musk acknowledged that California Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers are pushing to make it possible for Tesla to select the state for a gigaplant site, and the company has said conversations are underway.

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