Despite Tesla share value plummeting over 67% in the last 12 months, the company is still pushing on with expansion. The latest development involves nearly a billion-dollar expansion of its Austin, Texas factory, also known as Giga Texas.
According to filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Registration this week, Tesla is planning a $717 million investment to add about 1.4 million square feet of space at the auto factory pushing their total in that location to about 5.6 million square feet.
The expansion will include, among other things, the construction of facilities for battery cell testing and manufacturing, cathode and drive unit manufacturing, and a die shop.
The announcement of the Giga Texas expansion comes after Tesla hired a new second in command, Zhu Xiaotong, also known as Tom Zhu. He was previously Tesla’s vice president for Greater China and will now be in charge of Tesla’s US assembly plants as well as sales operations in North America and Europe. This gives him control of Giga Texas.
Elon Musk only opened this Gigafactory last year in April 2022. Today, the facility produces some Tesla Model Y SUVs and plans to mass-produce the long-awaited Cybertruck pickup truck.