Electric vehicle giant Tesla has a significant potential to hit an annual production capacity of approximately 2 million EVs.
Remarkably, Tesla reported over 400,000 EV sales in the fourth quarter of 2022 alone. That said, the production plants are probably already producing more than 1.6 million units annually, with over 1.8 million sales targets for 2023.
InsideEVs collected and compiled information on Tesla’s EV production plants to demonstrate the site’s progress.
Tesla Factory in Fremont, California – up to 650,000/year
Tesla claims it had record-breaking production levels at each EV plant last year. That said, the Fremont production plant is currently operating at total capacity.
The Fremont plant has the capacity to produce up to 550,000 Model 3/Model Y vehicles annually. At the same time, it can also produce up to 100,000 updated Model S/Model X vehicles.
Overall, the plant has an annual production capacity of 650,000 EVs.
Tesla Giga Nevada (Gigafactory 1)
The Giga Nevada is Tesla’s first gigafactory for li-ion battery cell production. In collaboration with Panasonic, it produces cylindrical battery cells of the 2170-type.
In addition, the plant manufactures parts, drive units, power electronics, energy storage systems, and other EV-related products.
It is also worth noting that the EV giant recently disclosed a major investment of $3.6 billion at the site in early January 2023. The investment is expected to aid Tesla in producing the Semi with 50,000 units capacity annually and new 4680-type cylindrical cells with 100 GWh capacity per year.
Notably, the highly-awaited Tesla Semi is under “Pilot production” as of now. In retrospect, it was under development in Q2 2022 and entered early production in Q3 2022.
Tesla Giga Shanghai (Gigafactory 3) in China – more than 750,000/year
Tesla’s central export hub Giga Shanghai has the potential to manufacture approximately 750,000 Model 3/Model Y vehicles annually.
“Since our Shanghai factory has been successfully running near full capacity for several months, we do not expect meaningful sequential volume increases in the near term. Gigafactory Shanghai remains out main export hub, supplying vehicles to most markets outside of North America.”
Tesla
Tesla Giga Berlin (Gigafactory 4) in Germany – more than 250,000/year
Tesla Giga Berlin has the potential to produce more than 250,000 units per year.
Since March 2022, the Tesla Model Y has been manufactured by Tesla Giga Berlin in Grünheide using cylindrical battery cells of the 2170-type. However, Tesla plans to use the 4680-type cylindrical battery cells to produce Tesla Model Y’s new variant in the future.
Moreover, the automaker declared its 3,000 Tesla Model Y production milestone in just a week.
Another interesting advancement is that customers can now choose new premium paint colors for their EVs.
“We also introduced two new multi-layer paint colors from our advanced paint shop at our Berlin factory – Quicksilver and Midnight Cherry Red.”
Tesla
Tesla Giga Texas (Gigafactory 5) in the US – more than 250,000/year
Tesla recently reported a 3,000/week Model Y (all variations) production milestone. That said, the factory has a capacity of over 250,000 productions annually.
Meanwhile, the weekly production of cylindrical battery cells of the 4680-type has grown to 1 million units. More than 1,000 electric cars, or one-third of the plant’s output, may use it.
The Tesla Model Y production began in April 2022 at Tesla Giga Texas in Austin.
Notably, the Giga Texas-made Model Y is equipped with a structural battery pack and cylindrical cells of the 4680-type. Given that the 4680-type cell’s supply is narrow, Tesla produced the non-structural 2170-type “legacy” version at the facility.
As for the Tesla Cybetruck, the automaker plans to begin limited production in mid-2023 as it is currently under the “Tooling” phase. Tesla aims to start large-scale production by 2024.
Tesla installed production capacity
| Tesla Production Plants | Units/year |
| Tesla Factory in Fremont | up to 650,000 |
| Giga Shanghai | over 750,000 |
| Giga Berlin | over 250,000 |
| Giga Texas | over 250,000 |
| Total | 1,900,000 per year |
Indeed, Tesla is steadily increasing its production capacity to meet the anticipated spike in demand for electric vehicles.
Having said that, it would not be surprising if Tesla surpasses its potential production capacity of 2 million EVs per year.
