Tesla applies for massive $700 million expansion of Gigafactory Texas

Tesla has applied with the Texas state department of licensing for a massive $700 million expansion of Gigafactory Texas in Austin.

Gigafactory Texas is already a monstrously big factory. That becomes clear as you drive along it, which takes a while because it is almost a mile long.

Tesla is already producing Model Y vehicles at the factory, but the production lines are taking a small portion of the giant plant.

The automaker plans to add Cybertruck production in the existing facility and it has talked about expanding for future production of vehicle programs and battery production.

Today, we learn that Tesla filed for an expansion of the factory with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation yesterday.

The expansion includes a $717 million construction investment for an additional 1.4 million square-feet of space. In usual Tesla fashion, the company plans to move fast with construction starting as soon as the end of the month.

The Austin Business Journal listed the four projects as part of the expansion:

• The largest of the four projects is for a 693,093-square-foot facility called Cell 1. That project also carries the largest price tag with an estimated cost of $368 million. Construction on the project is expected to begin Jan. 23 and complete Feb. 12, 2024.
• The project with the next-largest footprint is called Drive Unit and will be 423,032 square feet. That project has an estimated cost of $85 million. Construction is expected to begin Feb. 6 and complete Jan. 15, 2024.
• Cathode would be the third-largest project at 321,186 square feet, but the second-most expensive at $260 million. That project has a start date of Jan. 30 and a completion date of Dec. 18. However,
• The smallest of the four projects is Cell Test Lab, which will be just 2,560 square feet — a bit bigger than the average Starbucks — and cost an estimated $3.7 million. That project has a start date of Jan. 30 and a completion date of Aug. 25.

However, some of those expansion filings can be supplemental to previous plans.

For example, the Cathode plant is already under construction according to recent drone flyovers of the construction site. In the filings, Tesla writes that the projects are for new construction for “ground up and complete interior finish out of the [electric vehicle] manufacturing facility.”

Future products that are expected to eventually be built at the Gigafactory Texas site include Tesla Bot, the company’s humanoid robot, Tesla Semi, and its upcoming vehicles built on the Gen 3 vehicle platform.