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Tesla (TSLA) reportedly files for $776 million expansion to its Texas Gigafactory

The plans for Tesla's expanded facilities seem to focus heavily on battery production and testing.

TJ Denzer

January 11, 2023 7:25 AM

Image via Tesla

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It would seem Tesla is looking to grow its Texas Gigafactory facilities sizably in the very near future. The company appears to have filed for an expansion to the Tesla Texas facility outside of Austin, reporting an apparent $776 million USD in value once the project is complete and making it one of the biggest expansions to Tesla’s factories yet.

Word of Tesla’s filing for the supposed $776 million expansion were reported via Reuters, who claims to have pulled the filing from the Texas state department of licensing's website. Indeed, there are several recent project filings within the last few days on behalf of Tesla, calling for the building of approximately five new facilities onto the Texas Gigafactory. These facilities range from simple expansion to a cell test lab, complete with a new department referred to as “Cathode." The total investment into this deal would be one of the largest expansions of Tesla facilities thus far.

While there has not yet been any official word or announcement out of Tesla itself on the matter, these actions seem to coincide with plans the popular car manufacturer teased in 2022. Batteries and, particularly, the lithium that powers them were a particular pain point in supply line disruption for the company as it struggled to push through production constraints. In July 2022 during a quarterly earnings results conference call, Elon Musk notably said that the lithium refining business is currently a “license to print money.” It was further reported that Tesla was previously looking at Texas as a potential spot for a lithium refinery.

With plans filed for expansion in Texas, it looks like Tesla is finally set to build the facilities that will likely boost its battery production game, or at least get things started. Stay tuned as we continue to follow this story for further updates.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.