Elon Musk has announced that Tesla will build its next-generation vehicle at Gigafactory Mexico.
During Investor Day 2023, Musk confirmed the location of the new production facility, which Mexico’s President Andrès Manuel Lopez Obrador announced a day earlier. The factory will be located in Monterrey and focus on producing Tesla’s next-gen vehicle, which will use the company’s new platform.
While Tesla has not yet revealed the segment or moniker of its next-gen vehicle, executives have shared some details during Investor Day 2023. Colin Campbell, Tesla’s VP of Powertrain engineering, revealed that the company’s new powertrain will be compatible with any battery chemistry and will not use any rare metals. Tesla will also switch from 12V to 48 low-voltage systems.
Tesla’s next-gen platform is not limited to a single vehicle and will be used across different segments, according to Lars Moravy, who spoke during Investor Day.
Given Tesla’s history, it is possible that the company will release vehicles using the next-gen platform one by one over time, similar to how it introduced the original Roadster, S3XY lineup, the Semi, and soon the Cybertruck. Tesla may have already teased the segment of the first new vehicle using its next-gen platform, although it is unclear which vehicle that will be.
The new Roadster, which Tesla has already unveiled but has not yet released, is not a priority for the company right now, according to Tesla’s Design Chief Franz Von Holzhausen.
Therefore, it is unlikely to be the next-gen vehicle that Gigafactory Mexico will produce. The $25,000 electric vehicle, which has been unofficially dubbed the “Model 2” or “Model Q” by EV advocates online, is also a possibility, as Elon Musk and other executives have mentioned it a few times over the years.
A $25,000 electric vehicle would be in high demand, resulting in particular supply needs that Tesla could not provide in the past. However, Tesla has grown in many areas, particularly in production, cash flow, and supply chain connections. Since announcing the Semi, Tesla has designed and started manufacturing its own battery cell, solving many constraints. With Tesla’s growth, some obstacles for Model 2 production might have been cleared.
Gigafactory Mexico will face the challenge of water scarcity, according to President Obrador, who announced the factory’s location. However, Musk has not yet elaborated on how the company plans to address this issue.
Overall, the announcement of Gigafactory Mexico as the location for Tesla’s next-gen vehicle production facility is significant news for both the company and Mexico. As Tesla continues to expand globally, the company will likely make more announcements like this in the future.