Tesla has applied for permits to double the size of Gigafactory Texas in Austin as it adds new vehicle production.
Tesla loves large factories. Each one of its factories ranks amongst some of the largest buildings on the planet, and they are still growing.
Gigafactory Texas already spams over 5 million square feet.
Now, The Austin Business Journal reports that Tesla filed 10 new applications with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation last week to double the size of the Austin factory.
The filings are reportedly light on details, but they do mention ‘body in white’, ‘castings’, and more:
The recent TDLR filings reveal little about Tesla’s expansion plans. But some of the names for individual projects cited in the filings — including Body in White, Castings, Paint, Plastics, Stamping and Drive Unit — provide hints about the expansion’s purposes. “Body in white” is the stage in automobile manufacturing where a car’s body is put together before things such as the motor and seats are installed.
Currently, Gigafactory Texas produces the Model Y, Cybertruck, and 4680 battery cells that power the Cybertruck.
Tesla plans to build its recently unveiled Robotaxi/Cybercab at Gigafactory Texas.
The automaker is also looking to build two new vehicles based on Model 3 and Model Y, but those will be built on the same production lines for Model Y at the factory.
However, those vehicles are expected to be fairly high-volume programs, and therefore, they will likely require new production lines for some parts of the vehicles, like stamping and drive units.
As for the Robotaxi, it is built on an all-new platform and manufacturing process, which Tesla calls ‘unboxed’. Some of the new factory expansions are expected to support Tesla’s production of the Robotaxi, which automakers believe will reach millions of units by the end of the decade.
The building permit applications mention a start of construction now and to be completed by the end of 2025.
Tesla’s new cheaper Model 3/Y-based vehicles are expected to start prediction at Gigafactory Texas in the first half of 2025 while the Robotaxi is expected to come in 2026.