Tesla’s first gigafactory in Reno, Nevada, has big development plans for the coming years. The automaker announced that it would invest an additional $3.6 billion to construct two new factories in the complex, increase employment (by 3,000 employees), and invest heavily in the project. This is huge considering the company’s initial commitment to construct the facility in 2014, when it made an initial investment of $3.5 billion. The 4680-type batteries will be made at one of the new Nevada factories, and Tesla’s first factory will build the Semi in large quantities at the other.
In Dec ‘2022, five years after showing off the electric rig for the first time and after several delays, the automaker delivered its first production Semis to Pepsi. The truck is currently produced by Tesla in small batches, but the company has long planned to begin mass production in Nevada. The company’s semi-truck can travel between 300-500 miles on a single charge, using less than 2 kWh per mile. Within the first three years, Tesla claims, owners will save up to $200,000 on fuel.
While Tesla’s Semi factory will finally enable the mass production of its trucks, its 4680 battery factory will assist the company in achieving its objectives of decreasing the price of batteries and increasing production to sell 20 million electric vehicles by 2030. The 4680 battery, which gets its name from the fact that its cells measure 46mm by 80mm, was introduced by Tesla as a cheaper alternative for powering its vehicles. However, the dry-coating process used to coat the company’s cells has been causing the company to have difficulty scaling up production, according to Reuters. The new factory, according to Tesla, will be able to produce 4680 batteries per year, which is sufficient for 1.5 million light-duty vehicles. However, the company did not specify how it will address those issues.
