How Many Gigafactories Does Tesla Have? Tesla Factory Locations

One of the most fascinating industry-wise transformation is happening right now in the automotive sector. Tesla, as the first lithium-ion battery car manufacturer, pioneered the rebirth of electric vehicles once again in 2008. Last year, electric vehicle sales made up more than 10 percent of every new car sold globally. That is truly an enormous success led by Tesla, an American EV startup. Today, Tesla is the biggest electric vehicle manufacturer in the world, building variety of cars at its gigafactories.

Related Article: How Many Tesla Cars Have Been Sold?

As of 2022, Tesla has eight factories located all over the world. Fremont Factory is the first manufacturing site of the EV maker. The original “Tesla Gigafactory” Giga Nevada is where they produce lithium-ion batteries, thanks to the collaboration with Panasonic. Giga New York produces solar panels, not electric vehicles. The fourth one, the first factory Tesla built outside the US is the Giga Shanghai. This manufacturing site has been producing electric cars in China since 2019. The two foreign gigafactories, Giga Texas and Giga Berlin has officially started producing EVs in 2022. And Tesla’s last gigafactory will be located in Monterrey, Mexico.

New Tesla gigafactory in Mexico will help Tesla extend its lineup and double the manufacturing capacity. Tesla’s rapid expansion shows that there sure will be a couple more Tesla factories to be built in this decade.

Here is the list of current Tesla gigafactories all over the world:

Tesla Gigafactories Located in United States

Given that Tesla is an American automaker, its main manufacturing facilities and headquarters are all in the United States. Though the first Tesla vehicle, the original Roadster is not made in the US, it is mainly produced in the UK. British sports car maker Lotus was the manufacturing partner for the Tesla Roadster at that time.

Here are the Tesla’s manufacturing facilities in the US:

Tesla Fremont Factory

Fremont Factory is the first full-featured factory that Tesla owns. It was originally constructed by the legacy automaker General Motors in 1962. Tesla bought this half-century-old facility in 2010 and then started the production of its first electric car that fully developed in-house called the Tesla Model S.

Last year Tesla’s Fremont factory in California, produced an average of almost 9,000 EVs a week. That makes it the most productive auto factory in America. Tesla is currently producing the following vehicle models; Model S, Model X, Model Y, and Model 3. 

Fremont 2022 Production: 500-600K* vehicles

*Fremont’s 2021 production was 463,094 vehicles. 2022 numbers are not official yet

Giga Nevada – Gigafactory 1

(Captured from Youtube video: @Mark Divitorio)

Giga Nevada is the original “Gigafactory” project that Tesla announced way back in 2014. Panasonic, the Japanese lithium-ion battery cell manufacturer, had signed an agreement with Tesla to invest in this factory, estimated to cost around $5 billion. Gigafactory officially began mass production of 2170 cells, which were jointly designed and engineered by Tesla and Panasonic, in January 2017. 

Tesla’s first gigafactory has 13 battery cell production lines, as of today. The 14th line is under construction, and will probably be ready later in 2022. The cell factory is planned to reach a maximum capacity of 105 GWh cell production in the near future.

The heavy-duty electric vehicle Tesla Semi is also in the limited-production phase at a manufacturing site very close to the Nevada factory.

In January 2023, Tesla officially announced that it will invest $3.6 billion to build the next phase of the Gigafactory Nevada. This new investment includes a new 4680 battery cell production facility with annual capacity of 100 GWh, and a high-volume Tesla Semi factory.

Giga Nevada 2022 Production Capacity: ~39 GWh of battery cells.

Giga Texas

Giga Texas visualized like this at its opening day April 8th, 2022. It is the final design rendering of the facility.

Tesla started its fifth gigafactory construction near Austin, Texas, in July 2020. Giga Texas officially opened in April 8th, 2022. Construction was completed in almost one and a half years. Tesla Model Y is the first model that the Texas facility starts building, as pre-production has already started in 2021.

When both Model Y and Cybertruck production start, Giga Texas will be able to produce more than 1 million electric cars annually, becoming the North America’s largest car factory.

This special manufacturing facility uses giant die-casting machines called ‘Giga Press‘ to produce electric vehicles more efficiently, estimated first phase production pace is around 7,000 cars a week. It is confirmed that the Giga Texas can be able to produce one EV for every 45 seconds.

Tesla invested more than $1 billion in this production site, used more steel than the Empire State Building, and installed a dozen of cutting-edge casting machines made by the Italian manufacturer iDRA. It is expected to build not just Model Ys but also Tesla Cybertruck electric pick-up models as well. Cybertruck won’t need any paint shops, it will feature an exterior shell that serves as both chassis and body panels without any paint. Thanks to Cybertruck’s extraordinary production process, Gigafactory Texas will probably be the most efficient auto factory in the world.

Giga Texas Production Capacity: 500,000 Model Ys (first phase), 1 Million+ (second phase with Cybertruck production)

Giga Texas 2022 Production Estimate: ~90,000 Vehicles (60,000 in Q4, according to Teslarati‘s estimation)

Giga New York

Gigafactory New York has started its operation as a solar PV cell manufacturing and Solar Roof assembly site at first, and later also started to produce Supercharger components. It is not directly involved with Tesla’s electric vehicle business.

Tesla partnered with Panasonic, yet again in 2017, to produce solar cells. But Japanese tech giant ended its involvement at the Buffalo, New York factory in 2020. Since then, Tesla has been importing the photovoltaic cells it needs from China.

Tesla Gigafactories outside the US

Giga Shanghai

(Captured from Youtube video: @Jason Yang)

Giga Shanghai is the largest manufacturing site that Tesla built as of today. Construction started in December 2018 and ended in almost one year. Tesla wholly owns the factory, which is a first for the Chinese auto industry. 

Initially, Tesla only produced its mid-size electric sedan Model 3 at the Shanghai facility. Model Y production started in January 2021. The factory site also includes Tesla’s new engineering and design center in China.

Tesla has been preparing for an expansion in Shanghai, where it will produce its $25,000 affordable electric vehicle, designed for both Chinese and European customers. The so-called ‘Model 2’ will enter mass production later in 2022 according to Chinese industry sources. Tesla will also create a new manufacturing hub near Giga Shanghai, where it will only build vehicles it will export to other countries. Shanghai will become Tesla’s largest EV export hub, thanks to the new investment plan.

Giga Shanghai 2022 Production: over 750,000 vehicles

(Gigafactory Shanghai produced 473,078 vehicles in 2021)

Giga Berlin

(Captured from Youtube video: @Tobias Lindh)

Elon Musk announced that Tesla chose Berlin, Germany as the fourth gigafactory location in 2019. The factory will produce both battery cells and electric vehicles when fully finished. Construction of the Gigafactory Berlin started in June 2020. It officially started production in March 2022. First Model Ys made in Giga Berlin were delivered to customers on 22 March 2022. Battery packs of Teslas made in Germany are currently shipped from China. Batteries, as well as battery cells, will be produced at the same facility in the near future.

The expected cost of the Gigafactory Berlin is €4 billion, according to German media. Tesla already started the construction of the battery cell production site, after finishing up with the main buildings. Texas-based company will produce its custom design 4680 cells at the Giga Berlin. The vehicles built in Berlin will feature a structural battery pack, which will help Tesla produce cars more efficiently. Gigafactory 4 is also equipped with giant aluminum casting machines, similar to Giga Texas.

Trivia fact: Giga Berlin is the smallest gigafactory that Tesla operates. But it is planned to be expanded in the near future, as Tesla already applied for a 250-acre expansion plan which will double the production capacity of the Giga Berlin.

Giga Berlin Production Capacity: 500,000 Model Ys

Here is the official fly-through video of the newly opened Giga Berlin:

Gigafactory Mexico

After a long period of speculations, the next Tesla gigafactory location finally made official. The sixth gigafactory will be built in Mexico, Elon Musk announced at Tesla Investor Day on March 1st. American EV-maker will invest $5 billion into a next-gen vehicle factory in Monterrey, the capital and largest city of Mexico’s northern state of Nuevo Leon.

Tesla’s sixth gigafactory is just south of its HQ in Texas. Prior to the official announcement, Tesla already gained its very own border patrol lane. Both Tesla and its suppliers around the US-Mexico border passing benefit from the special treatment. Tesla will appreciate the gesture more when the new Gigafactory Mexico start shipping thousands of cars every week.

Giga Mexico Production Capacity: +1 Million Tesla Vehicles (Estimated)

Possible Tesla Gigafactory Locations

Canada: Elon Musk officially confirmed that Tesla is actively looking for opportunities in Canada to build its next gigafactory. Ontario and Quebec are the two main options. The company has also increased its hirings in the country. There will be an official announcement in the coming months.

South Korea: Elon Musk, yet again, publicly stated Tesla’s interest towards building a gigafactory in South Korea. Tesla’s seconds Asian factory might be located in Korean Peninsula, but the final decision isn’t made yet.

United Kingdom: Rumors were indicating that Elon Musk was in talks with the UK government to open the next European Tesla gigafactory in the UK. The country was once the preferred manufacturing location for automakers. Even though Brexit has reduced the UK’s appeal in the automotive industry, a Tesla manufacturing site in the UK is still a possibility.

India: India is the second-largest auto market in the world. The government has been struggling with the electrification of the industry, thus seeking outside help from foreign companies. Tesla is the strongest candidate for the Indian government to ally. But Elon Musk is not rushing with the idea of constructing a manufacturing site in the country, as foreign carmakers still face severe taxation, resulting in lower profitability.

Tesla is not on good terms with the Indian government lately because India has been unconvinced by Tesla’s investment plans, as a result, they don’t want to issue an exception that can ease import duties on vehicles such as Tesla’s, which will highly benefit American EV maker. Gigafactory India is not coming in the near future, that’s for sure.

Turkey: Turkey has become the most appealing location for automakers in Europe, as the local currency lost its value against foreign currencies and the labor costs dramatically decreased last year. It is expected to be one of the largest manufacturing countries in the Old Continent. With the new battery cell production sites under construction, Turkey could be the next location for Elon Musk’s Gigafactory 6.

Russia: Rumors suggest that Russia is also on the shortlist of possible gigafactory locations. But the tension between the Russian government and the US will certainly decrease Russia’s chance to attract the world’s biggest electric vehicle manufacturer. (Update: After the Ukrainian war, Russia is no longer a viable investment option for any western company.)