Tesla is investing more than $3.6 billion into its Reno, Nevada Gigafactory, and with part of the cash, it plans to build its “first high-volume Semi factory,” according to a blog post published Tuesday.
The company officially delivered the first of its long-delayed electric Semi trucks to PepsiCo in December, but it appears Tesla is ready to significantly expand its production of the new vehicle. However, Tesla’s blog post doesn’t specify how many trucks the factory might make on a regular basis or when it’s expected to open, so it might be awhile before that high volume kicks in.
In addition to the Semi factory, Tesla wants to use the Nevada investment to build a 100 GWh 4680 battery cell factory, which the company says will have “capacity to produce enough batteries for 2 million light duty vehicles annually,” as well as add 3,000 new employees to the facility. For context, the company says that the Gigafactory currently produces upwards of 37 GWh of batteries per year, enough for around 500,000 vehicles.
