Jan. 30, 2023 – More than $3.6 billion will go toward equipping Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory with two new factories, Reuters reports.
One factory will be built to begin production on Tesla’s long-awaited electric semi-truck. The other factory will be for producing their new 4680 battery cell. Tesla needs the batteries to power their semis but has struggled to receive what they need from its Fremont, California, and Austin, Texas factories. Experts say due to the dry-coating technique needed to produce the cells in their batteries taking up extra costs, Tesla may not be capable of speeding production up as much as they’d like.
This new factory would “be able to make enough batteries for two million light-duty vehicles annually, including batteries using the 4680-type cell.” The 4680 batteries are Tesla’s plan to cut costs and get production moving faster.
Tesla was initially meant to introduce electric semis back in 2019. Since then, they have had companies such as Pepsi, UPS, and Walmart show interest in utilizing the trucks, but not much progress has been made.
With the addition of these two factories, it appears Tesla will attempt to move forward with the production of electric semis, with Elon Musk saying in a post-earnings October phone call that the company will aim to manufacture 50,000 semis as soon as 2024.
