As indicated by Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo in a Jan. 23 speech, Tesla officially unveiled plans to invest $3.6 billion at its Gigafactory Nevada facility Jan. 24, during an on-site presentation delivered by CEO Elon Musk.
Tesla's boss announced the company will build two new factories adding 4 million square feet of new manufacturing footprint to Giga Nevada: the first high-volume Tesla Semi plant and a 4680 cell factory with an annual capacity of 100 GWh.
Musk said the cell factory will have capacity to produce enough batteries for 1.5 million light duty vehicles annually, adding both new plants will add 3,000 new jobs to the approximately 11,000 current jobs at the site.
The newly announced $3.6 billion investment in these two factories will add to the $6.2 billion Tesla has invested in Gigafactory Nevada since the plant opened in July 2016.
Those are all the details Tesla was willing to share, and one can't help ask whether the new factories will be standalone facilities or expansions of the existing Gigafactory Nevada.
Tesla wasn't very clear about that, although it did say the investment will continue the growth of Gigafactory Nevada. Looking at current photos of the factory and the latest rendering of it, the facility is about 60% complete, leaving room for major expansions.
Tesla started low-volume production of the Semi in a new building near Gigafactory Nevada, and the company's announcement doesn't make it clear whether that facility will be expanded into a full-blown manufacturing plant for the Semi or if production will move to Gigafactory Nevada's main building.
The latter appears to be more likely when looking at the new rendering of the plant released by Tesla, showing Semi tractors exiting the building through the left side of the main entrance.
We may learn more about Tesla's plans for Gigafactory Nevada on Jan. 25, when the company is scheduled to release its earnings report for the fourth quarter of 2022.
Regardless of the technicalities of the investment, it's great news for Tesla and Nevada, not to mention the market for all-electric Class 8 semi trucks.
The White House acknowledged the importance of Tesla's new investment after Lombardo announced the move.
"The manufacturing boom of President Joe Biden's first two years continues today with Tesla's announcement that they will invest more than $3.6 billion in battery and electric semi-truck manufacturing in Sparks, NV," said Mitch Landrieu, White House infrastructure coordinator. "This announcement is the latest in more than $300 billion in private sector investment in clean energy and semiconductor manufacturing announced since the president took office. It will create more than 3,000 good-paying jobs in Nevada, helping America lead in clean energy manufacturing, strengthening our energy security and ultimately lowering costs for families."
Abby Andrews