Over the past few years, Tesla has begun expanding its production reach as part of a long-term plan to become the world’s largest automaker. Recent reports have stirred up conversations about where Tesla will build its next Gigafactory, even saying that the automaker will be announcing the new site soon.
Tesla appears set to unveil its next Gigafactory in Mexico, according to multiple reports from sources familiar with the matter (via The Street). The new factory will reportedly be built outside of Monterrey in Santa Catarina, within the Mexican border state of Nuevo León.
Tesla and the state of Nuevo León are still finalizing certain details of the plant’s construction, and the automaker has been in regular discussion with the state government and the Mexican foreign relations ministry.
Beyond its newest factories, Giga Berlin and Giga Texas, the automaker has been targeting additional plant locations for over a year now.
“2022 is the year we will be looking at factory locations to see what makes the most sense, with possibly some announcement by the end of this year,” said Musk on the 2021 fourth-quarter earnings call.
Currently, Tesla produces vehicles at its four main factories, with U.S. vehicle factories located in Fremont (California) and Austin (Texas), and overseas factories in Grünheide (Germany) and Shanghai (China).
The news comes after CEO Elon Musk’s recent travels to Nuevo León, after which local news outlets reported that Tesla was considering an investment in the state. Tesla also recently gained a special lane for its suppliers at a Texas–Mexico border checkpoint a few months ago, which many expected to precede an announcement such as this.
In January, Musk also said that the automaker would likely be able to announce a new Gigafactory location by the end of this year. He mirrored the sentiment during Tesla’s annual shareholder’s meeting in August. At the time, many expected Canada to be the next plant location, especially as Musk mentioned that Tesla “got a lot of Canadas” in response to where the audience thought a new factory could be built.
Still, the Gigafactory in Mexico comes alongside many countries vying for Tesla to manufacture its cars and batteries within their nations, including Indonesia, South Korea, Canada, and a number of others.
Tesla also plans to build as many as 10–12 Gigafactory locations in the long run, according to Musk in statements at the shareholder’s meeting. He also added that each factory will target a production output of 1–2 million units annually. By 2030, Tesla is targeting 20 million vehicles per year, which would make it the largest automaker by production volume.
Originally posted on EVANNEX. Written by Peter McGuthrie.
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