Elon Musk’s Tesla’s Gigafactory network is set to grow as the company aims to meet his ambition to build as many as 20 million electric cars a year.
There are already six gigafactories around the globe where Tesla builds its Model S, Model X, Model Y, and Model 3 vehicles as well as the Cybertruck. A seventh, Tesla’s first factory in Mexico, is also in the works, and more are likely to come as Tesla’s sales volume increases.
“Ultimately, we will end up building, I don’t know, probably at least 10 or 12 Gigafactories,” Musk said at Tesla’s annual meeting in 2022.
Here’s a look at Tesla’s Gigafactories and why they’re so critical to the company’s growth plans.
How many Tesla Gigafactories exist?
Tesla currently has six massive Gigafactories located in Fremont, California; Sparks, Nevada; Berlin, Germany; Shanghai, China; Austin, Texas; and Buffalo, New York.
In March of 2023, Tesla confirmed plans to build a Gigafactory in Mexico. The plant will sit in the industrial hub of Monterrey. After initially lauding the addition of a Mexico factory, Tesla has pumped the brakes on the project amid a tougher electric vehicle market.
Do Tesla Gigafactories produce cars?
Tesla’s Gigafactories do a mix of battery and electric car production, depending on the location.
- Fremont, California — the first Tesla gigafactory — has manufacturing capacity for 550,000 Model S and Model X vehicles annually and 100,000 Model S and X vehicles.
- Tesla’s Nevada factory is where it will eventually produce the Tesla 18-wheeler Semi, thanks to a $3.6. billion investment it announced in 2023. Right now, the Gigafatory produces batteries and electric motors.
- Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory, which opened in 2022, manufactures battery cells and has a capacity for over 375,000 Model Y cars per year.
- In Shanghai, China, Tesla builds Model 3 and Y cars, with capacity to ship more than 950,000 cars annually, up from an original capacity of 750,000 vehicles.
- Tesla’s Gigafactory near Austin Texas — the company’s global headquarters — produces Model Y cars the Tesla Cybertruck. It has a production capacity of 375,000 vehicles a year.
- Buffalo, New York is home to Tesla’s Gigfactory where it produces batteries alongside its partner Panasonic.
Musk has said he hopes to build 10 to 12 more Tesla Gigafactories to reach his goal of making 20 million cars a year by 2030.
Can Gigafactories power the world? Are they sustainable?
Musk has said it would take 100 Gigafactories to supply the world with all its energy.
Many of the Gigafactories have solar panels on the roof, including an array of panels that spell out Tesla on the roof of Gigafactory Austin. When it was under construction, Musk promised an “ecological paradise” with walking trails along the neighboring river for the public to enjoy.
In Nevada, Gigafactory 1 was built without a natural gas connection, Tesla said in its 2019 impact report. The company “engineered thermal systems to maximize heat recovery resulting in significant energy efficiency gains compared to standard industrial designs,” including heat pumps and the naturally dry desert air for the dehumidification necessary for some battery processes.
Tesla says its Berlin Gigafactory is its “most advanced, sustainable and efficient facility yet.” The plant was initially met with opposition from local environmental groups who decried the loss of forest land for the factory. Activism around the Berlin plant reignited this year over a planned expansion of the plant. Despite pushback, the German government recently gave Tesla the go-ahead on its expansion plans.
How much electricity does a Gigafactory use?
Ahead of the Nevada Gigavactory’s construction, state officials estimated it would need up to 2,300 GWh of electricity annually. For context, an average American home uses only about 10,000 KWh annually, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
How many batteries will a Gigafactory produce?
From its opening in 2014 through the start of last year, The Gigafactory Nevada produced:
- 7.3 billion battery cells (37 GWh+ annually)
- 1.5 million battery packs
- 3.6 million drive units
In Berlin, Tesla currently builds 6,000 cars per week. It took the company a year to reach the 5,000 car-per-week milestone. It’s a model Tesla’s set to copy for new factories and helps support the company’s goals of 25,000 cars per year per factory.
How expensive is a Gigafactory to build?
Tesla’s Gigafactory planned in Mexico would cost $10 billion, making it the most expensive Gigafactory yet. For comparison, the Berlin Gigafactory — the second most expensive facility — cost around $5.5 billion, according to Reuters.
