tesla starts battery cell production at gigafactory

(Reuters)-
Electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors has begun mass production of lithium
The company said Wednesday that the ion battery was at a gigabit plant in Nevada with Japanese Panasonic.
The cylindrical \"2170 battery\" that will be used to power Tesla\'s energy storage products and the new Model 3 sedan is jointly designed by Tesla and its long-term battery partner Panasonic.
Tesla said the Geely plant will initially produce batteries for the company\'s Powerwall 2 and Powerpack 2 energy products.
Production of Tesla\'s first mass production battery-
The market car for Model 3 is expected to start selling in the second quarter.
The plant\'s planned annual battery production capacity is 35 gigawatts.
Tesla said on Wednesday it will achieve this by 2018.
\"Giga\" is a unit of measurement representing \"billions.
The plant is expected to reduce battery pack costs by more than 30%, the company said.
Tesla said that during the peak production period, Geely\'s factory is expected to employ 6,500 workers and create 20,000 to 30,000 jobs in the surrounding areas.