You can never have enough EV manufacturing space, or so is the mantra of Tesla. The company has filed an application to expand its gigafactory in Austin. According to permits filed with the City of Austin the project will cost approximately $717 million.
Tesla will gain 1.4 million square feet of space at Giga Texas after completing the expansion, as plans filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation on Jan 9 show. The company plans to start work as early as the end of the month, as reported by the Austin Business Journal.
The new plan will add four new areas to Giga Texas. The largest is named Cell 1, spanning 693,093 square feet, estimated at $368 million. It is expected to be completed by Feb 12, 2024.
The next largest is the Drive Unit, with 423,032 square feet, costing $85 million. It will be completed about a month before Cell 1 in January 2024.
The Cathode building is next, offering 321,186 square feet at $260 million. Tesla plans to complete it in December 2023. There was a previous filing for a Cathode building, but there is no confirmation if it is the same as the one in the new plan.
The last and smallest is the Cell Test Lab covering only 2,560 square feet at $3.7 million. Given the small size it will be finished far ahead of the others in August 2023.
In the documentation, the project is filed as a new construction but is described as being used for “ground up and complete interior finish out of the [electric vehicle] manufacturing facility,” indicating the majority of the work will likely take place inside Giga Texas.
Information in TDLR filings is subject to change as they are not usually final.
Tesla filed another expansion plan last June. It is currently the largest manufacturing company in Texas by floor space.
