Tesla joins a growing list of automakers to announce significant investments in manufacturing and production in the United States. The EV company will allocate a hefty $3.6 billion to its first Gigafactory in Nevada, expanding battery production and the Semi, which begins deliveries to customers in late 2022.
The investment includes two new plants in addition to the current facilities already on site. One will be dedicated to batteries, specifically the 100 GWh 4680 cell plant with a production capacity of 1.5 million batteries per year. The second plant is about the Tesla Semi, serving as a high volume production facility for commercial electric trucks. This investment will add 3,000 jobs to the area. Tesla did not provide a time frame for construction or a planned completion date. There’s also no word on when recruiting will begin. Tesla’s website currently features more than 350 job openings in Nevada.
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The Tesla Semi debuted back in November 2017 with promises of impressive long range and performance while pulling a fully loaded trailer. Deliveries finally begin on a limited basis in December 2022, with the truck capable of traveling 500 miles of payload on a single charge. Tesla didn’t offer production targets for the Semi once the dedicated factory was up and running.
Tesla’s $3.6 billion investment is just part of what is fast becoming a very expensive year for the US automaker. In early January, Mercedes announced $1 billion for a new EV charging network in the United States. General Motors will spend nearly $1 billion on EV technology and development of the V8 engine. Hyundai and SK On are sending $5 billion to Georgia for a new battery plant. BMW has $1.7 billion for batteries in South Carolina, Honda and LG are investing $4.4 billion for batteries in Ohio, and Toyota will invest $2.5 billion in North Carolina. And that’s just the billions of dollars in investments announced in the last six months.
The latest news from Tesla stands in stark contrast to where the company is in mid-2022. Elon Musk is calling for a significant reduction in Tesla’s workforce and a hiring freeze, ultimately leaving 10 percent of employees left without jobs.
