Tesla is looking to significantly increase the size of its production facility to help satisfy demand for the impending Model 3 compact luxury saloon.
Currently, the firm’s facility in Fremont covers 4.5 million square feet of manufacturing and office space and a proposed 12 new buildings would add 4.6 million square feet to that figure.
The new Tesla master plan proposes the construction of new buildings near its existing paint shop, on existing parking lots and on a 25-acre slab of land it recently purchased from a development company. The proposal has been submitted to the City of Fremont and later this week, is set to be discussed by the Fremont Planning Commission. If Tesla’s plans are approved, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that it will then have to submit permit applications for the buildings it hopes to erect on the site.
According to a Tesla spokeswoman, “We are pleased to work with the City of Fremont on a plan that reaffirms our commitment to California and to eventually maximize the potential of our Fremont factory site. California continues to be the epicenter of Tesla’s manufacturing capabilities, and we are proud to be the state’s largest manufacturing employer.”
The expansion of the Fremont plant will play a pivotal role in the company’s aim of hitting 1 million annual sales by 2020. The Californian facility could be joined by manufacturing plants in Europe, Asia and elsewhere in North America in the future.
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