Model Y

Make
Tesla
Segment
SUV

According to filings made with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Tesla has applied for the necessary permits to expand its Texas Gigafactory, which will cost an estimated $775.7 million.

Assuming the permits are approved, the construction is set to get underway next month and will entail a "ground up and complete interior finish out of the EV manufacturing facility." Construction should be completed by early next year.

The Texas Gigafactory's expansion is one of the carmaker's most significant investments since the $5.5 billion Gigafactory in Berlin, Germany. The EV automaker wants to add five new facilities at the Texas plant, Including a cell test lab and a new unit called "Cathode."

The Texas plant already builds the popular Model Y, and production of the delayed Tesla Cybertruck is set to start later this year. An army of robots is reportedly being prepared for that very purpose.

This latest news comes only a few days after Tesla promoted its China boss, Tom Zhu, to a new role that will see him have direct oversight over not just the Texas, California, and Nevada plants but also sales operations in North America and Europe.

Zhu proved himself to CEO Elon Musk while overseeing the Shanghai plant during and after the COVID-19 lockdowns. He successfully increased the plant's output at a time when nearly all other automakers suffered production setbacks.

In addition to the Texas Gigafactory expansion, Tesla has two more plants planned for the future.

In December 2022, we reported that a deal was very close to being signed for a new Gigafactory in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. That's estimated to cost between $800 million and $1 billion.

Bloomberg is reporting that the second facility will be in Indonesia. A preliminary deal for that factory is close to being ready though we have yet to determine which models will be manufactured there.