Adding two new factories and 3,000 new team members, Tesla will be investing more than $3.6 billion to expand its Nevada Gigafactory, the company announced this week. The Austin-based company plans to have its first high-volume Semi commercial truck factory and a 100 GWh 4680 cell factory. The cell factory plans to have the capacity to annually produce enough batteries for 1.5 million light-duty vehicles.
Originally set to be launched in 2019, the Tesla Semi is long delayed, even in terms of a company that has badly missed many deadlines. Tesla had discussed building the truck in California and Texas
In the continued push for electrification and sustainability, this announcement comes on the heels of other battery plant investments, including Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and Stellantis N.V.
In 2014, Tesla set their sights on building their first Gigafactory with an investment of $3.5 billion in Nevada; the original intention was for the facility to manufacture 35 GWh of battery cells annually, and they projected the need to hire 6.500 full-time team members. Now, with a total investment of $6.2 billion, the 5.4 million square foot factory has surpassed this goal, producing 37 GWh+ annually and directly hiring more than 11,000 team members.
Also Tuesday, Tesla announced its 4th quarter earnings. You can read about its financial performance here.
