????特斯拉汽車公司（Tesla Motors）銷量龐大的第三代電動汽車要想取得成功，關鍵將主要取決于它計劃斥資50億美元興建的鋰電池生產工廠能夠迅速完工。

????有鑒于此，電動汽車制造商特斯拉計劃同時完成至少兩個場地的施工前準備工作，直至工廠破土動工。

????特斯拉溝通行銷部副總裁西蒙?斯普洛爾說：“時機是我們面臨的關鍵問題。時機是任何延期的保險。”

????特斯拉只有三年時間完成場地評估，與其選擇的州或城市談判達成可贏利的激勵方案，完成設計和批準手續，建設工廠，安裝設備和批量生產。鑒于所謂的超級工廠（Gigafactory）的規模、物流以及公司需要解決的監管障礙，時間都顯得過于緊迫。

????2月26日，特斯拉首次發布了超級工廠的詳細信息。它的設計目標是：到2020年，鋰電池年生產能力將超過2013年的全球生產能力。特斯拉估計，超級工廠的年生產能力將達到50千兆瓦時，生產的鋰電池將用于S型豪華轎車以及為大規模市場開發的價格較低的第三代汽車。據特斯拉估計，到2020年，超級工廠生產的電池將每年滿足50萬輛電動汽車的供電需求。

????斯普洛爾稱：“超級工廠對特斯拉公司的增長極為關鍵。因此，與整個業務計劃中的其他要素一樣，時間對我們而言至關重要。”

????到2017年（批量生產的第一年）年末，超級工廠有望使單位千瓦時的鋰電池組成本降低30%以上。這個成本降低有助于實現CEO埃隆?穆斯克提出的計劃，將汽車售價在S型豪華轎車售價基礎上降低50%。目前，S型豪華轎車的起售價為7萬美元。

????特斯拉起初表示，它把位于亞利桑那州、德克薩斯州、新墨西哥州和內華達州的四個面積在500至1,000英畝（約合404畝）的地塊視為雇傭約6,500名工人的超級工廠潛在的廠址。

????For Tesla Motors (TSLA), the success of its mass-market third-generation electric car hinges largely on the swift completion of its proposed $5 billion lithium-ion battery factory.

????So much so that the electric automaker plans to go through the entire pre-construction process, all the way to breaking ground, in at least two locations simultaneously.

????"The critical path for us is timing," said Simon Sproule, vice president of communications for Tesla. "This is an insurance policy for any delays."

????The company has three years to complete its site review, negotiate a lucrative incentives package with whatever state and municipality it chooses, work through the design and approval process, build the factory, install equipment, and launch production. Considering the size and logistics of its so-called Gigafactory as well as the regulatory hurdles it will have to navigate, time is in short supply.

????On Feb. 26, the electric automaker revealed the first details for its Gigafactory, a massive facility that will be designed to produce more lithium-ion batteries annually by 2020 than were made worldwide in 2013. Tesla estimates that the plant will have the capacity to produce 50 gigawatt hours of battery packs a year, which will be used for its Model S luxury sedan and a cheaper third-generation vehicle intended for the mass market. By 2020, Tesla estimates the facility will be able to make enough batteries to supply 500,000 vehicles a year.

????"The Gigafactory is essential for our growth," Sproule said. "So timing is just as important to us as other components in the total business package."

????The factory is expected to reduce the per-kilowatt-hour cost of its lithium-ion battery packs by more than 30% by the end of 2017, the first year of volume production. That price decrease is necessary for CEO Elon Musk's bid to make a car 50% cheaper than its luxury Model S, which starts at $70,000.

????Tesla initially said it was evaluating 500- to 1,000-acre sites in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and Nevada as four potential sites for the factory, which will employ about 6,500 people.