As indicated by Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo in a January 23 speech, Tesla officially unveiled plans to invest $3.6 billion at its Gigafactory Nevada facility during an on-site presentation delivered by CEO Elon Musk yesterday.
Tesla's boss announced the company would build two new factories adding 4 million square feet (371,612 square meters) of new manufacturing footprint to Giga Nevada: the first high-volume Tesla Semi plant and a 4680 cell factory with 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 that both new plants will create 3,000 new jobs – in addition 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 actually be standalone facilities or expansions of the existing Gigafactory Nevada.
Tesla wasn't very clear about that, although it did say the $3.6 billion investment will continue the growth of Gigafactory Nevada. Looking at current photos of the factory and the latest rendering of it (see top of the page), the facility is about 60 percent complete, leaving room for major expansions.
Gallery: Tesla Giga Nevada (Tesla Gigafactory 1)
You may recall that 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 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 that shows Semi tractors exiting the building through the left side of the main entrance.
We may learn more about Tesla's $3.6 billion investment in Gigafactory Nevada later today 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 Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo announced the move.
"The manufacturing boom of President 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, Nevada. 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."
Mitch Landrieu, White House Infrastructure Coordinator
Learn more about Tesla's announcement from the official video at the top of this page.
