Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) will invest US$3.6bn to continue expanding its Nevada gigafactory which opened in 2013, it said on Tuesday.
The investment will see two new factories built to produce batteries for 1.5mln cars annually and also to bolster output of its electric semi-truck.
Before this, Tesla has invested US$6.2bn over the past decade in the Nevada site, which opened in 2015 and has since produced 1.5mln battery packs and 3.6mln drive units, said the company.
Today, we’re announcing $3.6B of new investment in Giga Nevada.
- 4M sq ft of new manufacturing footprint
- 3k additional team members
- 2 new manufacturing facilities: a 100 GWh 4680 cell factory & our first high-volume Semi factory
Details → https://t.co/4CBOIFLwAW pic.twitter.com/rqXzyE7eRK
— Tesla (@Tesla) January 24, 2023
The announcement comes ahead of Tesla’s full-year results after the closing bell on Wednesday, where it will look to shore up investor confidence following a 65% drop in its share price in 2022.
It already announced it had fallen short of annual growth targets, with both production and deliveries missing forecasts.
Both were still at their highest ever though, with production reaching 1.37mln units and deliveries hitting 1.31mln units, respectively up 47% and 40% on 2021.
Outlook comments will be of interest after Tesla kicked off a price war among its competitors, slashing costs of its vehicle models in Europe and America by 20% and by 24% in China.
“This was both a defensive and offensive move,” said Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives, “to defend its EV turf and gain a competitive edge, especially in key markets”.