Tesla is planning a $770 million expansion of its Texas Gigafactory

The Texas Gigafactory, constructed last year, serves as the Tesla global headquarters and is the “equivalent to three Pentagons,” according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. | Image: Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesElectric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has notified the state of Texas...

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Jan 11, 2023 - 21:02
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Tesla is planning a $770 million expansion of its Texas Gigafactory

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The Austin-based factory is scheduled to begin manufacturing the Tesla Cybertruck sometime later this year.

Jan 11, 2023, 2:52 PM UTC|

An aerial view of the Tesla Gigafactory in Travis County, Texas.
The Texas Gigafactory, constructed last year, serves as the Tesla global headquarters and is the “equivalent to three Pentagons,” according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Image: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has notified the state of Texas of its plans to spend upward of $770 million expanding its already immense Austin-based factory.

According to registration documents filed on January 9th with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (via CNBC and the Austin Business Journal), Tesla intends to construct additional facilities for what appears to be a battery cell testing lab, cathode and drive unit manufacturing facilities, a die shop, and an undisclosed 693,093-square-foot facility called Cell 1.

Some of these projects are due to start construction within a matter of weeks.

Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filings showing costs of expansion at the Austin location as $59 million for a Die Shop, $368 million on “Cell 1,” $85 million for Drive Unit, $260 million for Cathode, and $3.7 million for Cell Test Lab.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filings showing expansion costs at the Austin location.

Image: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation

The aptly named “Gigafactory Texas” opened in April 2022 and has over 10 million square feet of floor space (around 100 football fields), making it the second-largest building by volume in the world. The facility is Tesla’s fourth factory in the US and is currently used to manufacture some Tesla Model Y vehicles, with plans to produce the company’s long-delayed Cybertruck sometime in 2023.

Tesla is entering 2023 with some challenges, with the company’s stock value having plummeted by over 71 percent since its all-time high in November 2021 as a result of missing production targets and manufacturing delays. Controversies surrounding Tesla’s self-driving tech and CEO Elon Musk’s Twitter ownership also appear to have taken a toll on the brand’s image following road accident coverage and Musk’s online behavior.

Tesla will be livestreaming its investor day on March 1st, 2023, from the Texas Gigafactory. Hopefully, we’ll get more information about the expansion then between Musk’s attempts to placate investors.