Name: Tesla’s Austin-area site could include battery production
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Tesla’s Austin-area site could include battery production

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&nbsp;Tesla could be planning to build more than just vehicles at its $1 billion assembly plant in southeastern Travis County.The electric vehicle manufacturer has plans to produce battery cells at the site, according to documents filed with the state. The company has already said it will produce its Cybertruck, Semi, Model 3 compact sedan and Model Y vehicles at the plant.Telsa has started construction on the Travis County site, and the company has begun hiring in Central Texas. Currently, Tesla’s job site lists more than 80 open positions in Austin.If a battery facility is added to the Travis County site, it would be among the first Tesla locations to co-locate a full scale battery and vehicle production, in addition to being the second U.S. vehicle-assembly factory after its flagship Fremont, Calif., plant.A company spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment, but Tesla issued the company’s third-quarter financial report on Tuesday afternoon.On a conference call with analysts, CEO Elon Musk said the company’s Austin and Berlin factories, which are both under construction, are expected to start deliveries next year, although with a limited capacity."Because of the exponential nature of manufacturing plants, especially with new technology, it will start off very slow at first," Musk said.He estimated it will take about 12 to 18 months to reach full capacity, which Musk stressed is still fast for new technology.Without naming Austin specifically, Musk also said Tesla will expand and improve its battery technology and battery cell production.Amber Gunst, CEO of the Austin Technology Council, said on-site battery production would add to the benefits Tesla brings to Central Texas."The expansion to battery production is great news for Central Texans. This creates more job opportunities for our citizens and puts Austin on the map not only for electric vehicles, but as a place where every alternative energy resource company is welcome to expand. With the recent groundbreaking on their facility and the job openings already created, Tesla is already becoming an integral member of our business community," Gunst said.Site plans filed with the city of Austin show Tesla intends to construct a massive factory building. Counting parking lots, the facility’s footprint amounts to 7.9 million square feet. That still leaves another 1,800 acres available for use at the 2,100-acre site at Harold Green Road and Texas 130. The company also recently bought another 371 acres adjacent to that site, according to deed records.Musk in July announced that Tesla had selected the Travis County site for its new facility.The factory was lured to the Austin area in part with tax breaks approved by Travis County and the Del Valle Independent School District that are valued at a minimum of about $60 million combined. The company didn’t receive financial incentives from the state to build the factory, which is expected to employ 5,000 people.An air-quality permit application filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality indicates the facility would include capabilities for stamping, die casting, drive units assembly, cell manufacturing, battery pack assembly, general assembly and paint repair operations. It would also include support equipment such as boilers, emergency engines, a wastewater treatment plant and a cooling tower."The facility is proposing to operate a cell-manufacturing unit to produce the battery packs that are installed in the vehicle. The final product from this operation are the cells," the filing said.The document was filed between July and September on Tesla’s behalf, as part of a permit-by-rule registration process that will allow the company to construct equipment.Last month, Musk said Tesla is looking to ramp up the company’s internal production of batteries. Tesla is already producing batteries in Nevada, and also works with outside suppliers. Musk said at the "Battery Day" event that he expects to begin producing battery cells at a pilot production line in Fremont, though it will ultimately be a very limited scale.Daniel Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, said the Austin location could significantly expand battery production for the company and help it streamline efficiency by manufacturing both vehicles and batteries under one roof."Austin lends itself well to what Tesla is trying to build out," he said. "Right now in the (electric vehicle) market, it's Tesla's world. Everyone else is paying rent."Ives said Austin will become a "linchpin" for Tesla as it expands. The Austin facility could more than double the company’s manufacturing capabilities in the United States, he said."I expect them to significantly expand their footprint in Austin, given its engineering talent and the geographic footprint, in terms of the parts of the U.S. that Tesla has taken from five days to a week to reach, now they can reach in a course of 24 to 48 hours to deliver," Ives said.Garrett Nelson, an analyst with CFRA Research, said Tesla tends to buy larger-than-needed sites to give the company room to expand over time. It’s clear that Tesla is looking to scale battery production in the near future, he said, and Austin could fit into that plan."That could include a battery factory or could include additional vehicle production," Nelson said. "It's a huge piece of land that they have to work with, strategically placed to serve eastern U.S. customers."The battery factory could also help maintain the company’s competitive edge. Nelson said Tesla is looking to grow annual production from about 500,000 vehicles this year to 20 million over the next several years. Battery production would be essential to those ambitious plans, Nelson said.Nick Shields, an analyst with Third Bridge, said Austin will be a key location for Tesla, which sees Texas as its second-biggest market long term."Batteries are expensive and outsourcing them is even more expensive," Shields said.

&nbsp;Tesla could be planning to build more than just vehicles at its $1 billion assembly plant in southeastern Travis County.The electric vehicle manufacturer has plans to produce battery cells at the site, according to documents filed with the state. The company has already said it will produce its Cybertruck, Semi, Model 3 compact sedan and Model Y vehicles at the plant.Telsa has started construction on the Travis County site, and the company has begun hiring in Central Texas. Currently, Tesla’s job site lists more than 80 open positions in Austin.If a battery facility is added to the...

Tesla’s Austin-area site could include battery production

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