Tesla Plans Massive Battery-Related Expansion Projects At Giga Texas

As Tesla continues to upgrade and expand its facilities amid turmoil in the automotive industry, there are often new filings to be discovered. We’ve reported on many of the filings related to the Fremont factory, as well as Giga Texas. The latest filing, which was first discovered by the Austin Business Journal and shared by Teslarati, points to $717 million in expansion projects for the EV maker’s newest factory in Austin, Texas.

The paperwork was submitted on January 9, 2023, as four different filings, since they’ll all have various uses and be positioned in different areas of the Giga Texas factory site. The total expansion will be some 1.4 million square feet, and it seems much of the space will be used for different battery-related processes.

Tesla submitted the filings to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation as projects entitled Cell 1, Drive Unit, Cathode, and Cell Test Lab. All the filings are listed as new construction, and they could already be underway in the coming weeks.

Based on the information reported by the publication, more than half of the $717 million will go to the Cell 1 site. It is projected to cost $368 million. Meanwhile, $216 million will be allocated for the Cathode facility. The Drive Unit and Cell Test Labs are much smaller projects, at least monetarily, coming in at $85 million, and just shy of $4 million.

Tesla currently produces some of its own batteries, and also produces batteries alongside Panasonic at its original Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada. In addition, it relies on many different suppliers for battery materials and cells, though it aims to move as much of the process in-house as possible.

The new Cell site should help Tesla ramp up its battery efforts and may make it easier for the automaker to ensure that its vehicles comply with the revamped US federal EV tax credit, which will have very specific rules related to batteries and battery materials sourcing. Interestingly, the automaker recently noted that it’s finally in a place where it has access to all the batteries it needs for its various business models, but as it launches new models and manufactures an increasing number of vehicles, it would be wise to stay ahead of the curve.

According to Teslarati, nearly a year ago, Tesla already filed paperwork with the local county to construct a Cathode facility at Giga Texas. Clearly, the battery-related construction has been on the company’s radar for a time, though it hasn’t yet materialized. However, now it seems Tesla is ready to move forward.

Tesla just added a small batch of Model Y SUVs with its proprietary 4680 battery cells to its online inventory. As the automaker ramps up the 4680-cell Model Ys, the proposed expansion will likely come in quite handy. The Cybertruck is also coming this year, and it will require loads of battery cells.