On three continents at the same time, Tesla is now building new factories for the production of electric cars, battery packs and perhaps also battery cells: After CEO Elon Musk named the Austin region in the state of Texas last Wednesday as the location for the next US gigafactory, the first floor works were documented there on the weekend.
In the meantime, machines in China had already entered the second Gigafactory building there, the construction of which only started this year. And at Giga Berlin, Musk said on Sunday that it would be realized at an “impossible” pace thanks to German prefabrication methods.
Largest Tesla factory, not yet Terafactory
Musk had previously said about the latest Giga project in Texas that it might have to be called Tesla Terafactory. In the conference call on Tesla’s business figures in the second quarter, he stayed with Gigafactory for the time being. Nevertheless, the factory will become Tesla’s largest to date worldwide, at least in terms of the size of the property (and probably also in terms of quantities): Musk spoke of 800 hectares, which is more than twice as much as the already huge Tesla property in Grünheide, Germany on which up to 2 million electric cars are to be produced each year.
In Texas, as they say, everything is a little bigger. And it could be that the Gigafactory project there could go even faster than in China and Germany. The blog Electrek reported early on that the decision had been made to go to Texas – and Tesla plans to start producing Model Y there for the eastern half of the U.S. before the end of this year.
As can be seen in a video published by a local Tesla fan, work was carried out on the new Tesla property itself this Sunday: A drone overflight shows an approximately double-digit number of construction vehicles that seem to level the first areas. The scene should remind Tesla customers of early pictures of the construction of the Gigafactory near Berlin. A freeway also runs past the property near Austin. However, the ground there appears darker than in Brandenburg, and the site is located in the middle of meadows and forest areas, which of course have an effect than the former industrial forest in Grünheide.
Tesla Cybertruck before the end of 2021?
CEO Musk had previously confirmed that the Tesla Model Y should be built in the next US gigafactory and is now repeating it at the quarterly conference; he said nothing at the start of production. Musk also confirmed that the Texas factory will produce the Tesla Cybertruck. And almost by the way, he announced where the Tesla Semi will be built: also in Texas. There should be enough space for that. And Tesla fans immediately hoped, given the location decision and the immediate construction preparations, that the Cybertruck might be available a little earlier than the previously announced date at the end of 2021.
