Tesla investing $US3.6 billion to construct electrical Semi vehicles, extra batteries

Electrical-car specialist Tesla has introduced a $US3.6 billion ($AU5.2 billion) funding into two new factories within the US state of Nevada to ramp-up manufacturing of its Semi truck, and extra battery packs for its passenger autos.

The brand new factories can be added to Tesla’s Gigafactory Nevada web site within the US, which has reportedly constructed 1.5 million battery packs for the corporate’s electrical vehicles because it opened in 2016.

The Tesla Semi truck – unveiled as an idea in 2017, earlier than going into manufacturing late final yr after a number of delays – is presently produced in restricted numbers on the firm’s manufacturing unit in Texas.

Nonetheless, the brand new billion-dollar facility in Nevada is alleged to be Tesla’s “first high-volume Semi manufacturing unit”, the corporate says.

No manufacturing numbers for the brand new Semi manufacturing unit have been offered, however Tesla has beforehand revealed a goal of manufacturing 50,000 Semi vehicles for North America in 2024.

In the meantime, the brand new Semi truck manufacturing unit can be joined by a facility producing ‘4680’ battery cells for Tesla passenger autos, which the corporate claims can be able to producing 100GWh of batteries per yr – sufficient for 2 million vehicles and SUVs.

The 4680 cells – additionally in manufacturing in Tesla’s Texas plant – are presently used solely in some Tesla Mannequin Y SUVs offered within the US, however they’re slated to increase to this yr’s Tesla Cybertruck ute, as a result of start manufacturing mid-year.

Tesla says the 2 further factories in Nevada will make use of 3000 new employees.

The electrical-car large’s Gigafactory Nevada services be a part of automobile meeting vegetation all over the world – Fremont, California and Austin, Texas within the US, Shanghai in China, and Berlin in Germany – plus smaller services elsewhere to provide electric-car chargers, automobile components and residential battery packs.