Tesla previously announced it is launching production of the $35,000 electric Model 3 sedan next summer. The company is also erecting the Gigafactory in Reno, Nev., that promises to revolutionize Tesla electric vehicles access by producing Lithium-Ion batteries at a cost of $100 per kWh by 2020.
The goal is to bring Tesla electric vehicles to the masses with its lower cost batteries and consumer-priced electric models.
While many automakers both domestic and foreign are also pioneering electric vehicles, Tesla’s proposed SolarCity deal and leveraging of solar power in general is aimed at re-engineering cities as we know them. If the vision becomes reality, Tesla’s rooftop solar panels will charge its Powerwalls batteries, electrifying homes and charging Tesla electric vehicles.
The company is somewhat of an enigma led by the charismatic Elon Musk, #34 on the 2016 Forbes 400 List of the Wealthiest in America, who believes the Gigafactory is a model to save the world from the effects of climate change.
The company is also one of a handful pioneering self-driving vehicles. In May, the first self-driving car death happened in the Tesla Model S. Cited as an anomaly by the company, the Tesla Driver Assist self-driving software had an update last month that Musk said would likely have avoided the Florida highway accident.
