Tesla Inc said on Tuesday it would invest more than $3.6 billion to expand its Nevada Gigafactory complex with two new factories, one to mass-produce its long-delayed semi electric truck and the other To make your new 4,680 battery cells.
The cell plant will be capable of producing enough batteries for 2 million light-duty vehicles annually, including batteries using 4680-type cells. 4680 is the key Tesla To meet the goal of halving battery costs by 2030 and increasing battery production by nearly 100 times.
Together, around 3,000 people will be employed while expanding the facilities electric vehicle Maker’s complex east of Reno, where it runs a battery joint venture with Japan Panasonic Corp. and manufactures vehicle parts and power backup systems.
Panasonic currently supplies cells to the Gigafactory, and Tesla assembles them into battery packs there.
Tesla has struggled to ramp up production of the 4680 at its factories in Fremont, California and Austin, Texas. Experts say the dry-coating technology used to produce the large cells in these batteries is new and unproven and the company is having trouble scaling up manufacturing to the point where large cost savings are realized.
The move shows that Tesla is finally committed to mass production of the Semi, which was initially supposed to start rolling out the factory doors in 2019. Tesla delivered the first Semi to PepsiCo in December, but there’s no indication of a higher rate. model output.
Other customers that have ordered semis include brewer Anheuser-Busch, United Parcel Service Inc. and Walmart Inc.
The Semi is a truck for 18-wheeled semi-trailer vehicles and has a range of 500 miles (800 km) on a single charge with a gross weight of 81,000 pounds (37 tons) including trailer and cargo. It may also qualify for a $40,000 tax credit offered for clean commercial vehicles under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Tesla Chair Robin Denholm said in November that Tesla could produce the 100cm in 2022, but the company did not provide any figures for the model in its fourth-quarter production report.
The EV maker aims to produce 50,000 cms in 2024, Musk said on a post-earnings call in October.
Tesla’s Tuesday announcement is “the latest of more than $300 billion in private sector investment in clean energy and semiconductor manufacturing since the president took office,” said Mitch Landrieu, senior adviser to US President Joe Biden.
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