gigafactory
nounEtymology From giga- + factory; Coined by billionaire Elon Musk in 2013 for his Tesla Motors, and since used by others.
1
Slang A very large manufacturing facility.
- The new AI “gigafactories” would be much larger, targeting what the commission called “moonshots”: significant innovations in healthcare, biotech, industry, robotics and scientific discovery. […] While the best-performing AI factories have supercomputers equipped with up to 25,000 advanced AI processors, a gigafactory would exceed 100,000 AI processors, the strategy document said. […] EU officials envisage three to five AI gigafactories in the EU at a cost of around €3-5bn each, compared with €600m for the biggest AI factory.2025 April 9, Jennifer Rankin, “EU to build AI gigafactories in €20bn push to catch up with US and China”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
2
Slang A factory producing electric batteries at a large scale.
- “The main constraint on our production is really the cells,” Musk explained. “We are not quite ready to make a big announcement on the cell and battery giga factory, but we are exploring a lot of these options right now.”2013, Dana Hull, “Tesla Motors may make its own batteries”, in San Jose Mercury News:
- Tesla Motors has chosen Nevada for its proposed $5-billion gigafactory battery plant, which it says will drive down the cost of its cars.2014, Charles Fleming, “Tesla Motors picks Nevada for planned $5-billion battery factory site”, in Los Angeles Times:
3 more examples
- Tesla is building a massive gigafactory in northern Nevada.2015, Myles Udland, “Tesla's new gigafactory will highlight the 2 biggest labor trends in America”, in Business Insider:
- Koch thinks the gigafactory should be hiring more people from the community, whether there are incentives or not. But would the Nevadans compromise a bit on wages in order to at least have a job?2016, Lydia DePillis, “At Tesla’s gigafactory, a larger battle over worker pay”, in Washington Post:
- The factory marks the arrival of battery-making gigafactories in Europe that will challenge Tesla, which is building at a plant in Nevada, and opens the way for a quicker shift toward green power for both cars and utilities.2017, Anna Hirtenstein, “Daimler's battery gigafactory begins Europe challenge to Tesla”, in Bloomberg: