Tesla plans to spend some $775.7 million to expand the Texas gigafactory.
Filings listed on the Texas state department of licensing’s website reveal that Tesla intends on adding five new facilities to the Austin site. This will include Cell 1, encompassing a 693,093 square-foot facility expect to cost $368 million and tipped to finish construction by February 12, 2024.
The 1.4 million-square-foot expansion will also include a new facility dubbed Drive Unit, spanning some 423,032 square feet and is estimated to cost $85 million. Meanwhile, $260 million would be allocated to ‘Cathode’ at a 321,186 square-foot facility that could be finished by December 18, 2022. A Cell Test Lab of 2,560 square feet and costing $3.7 million is also in the plans, the Austin Business Journal reveals.
Read: Tesla Hides Downgraded 2023 Model Y ‘Performance Brakes’ Behind Fancy Red Caliper Covers
The expansion will also include a 174,979-square-foot facility known as Plastics. This site was first revealed in filings made on December 20 and will cost $58 million. Construction of this facility was expected to commence on December 27, 2022 but it is unclear if work on it has indeed started.
Tesla has big plans for the Texas site. Not only will it soon add production of the Cybertruck but battery production at the facility is expected to grow. In addition, it will build the Tesla Semi, future vehicles built on Tesla’s Gen 3 platform, and the forthcoming Tesla Bot.
The expansion will see Tesla’s Texas site grow its footprint to about 5.6 million square feet. It is already the largest manufacturer in Central Texas and employs roughly 10,000 people at the location.
