Elon Musk: Tesla to build its next mega factory in Asia, outside of China

Electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla is riding high right now. In June, the company’s share price exceeded the USD1,000 (about RM4,278) mark, a feat that supplants Toyota, and makes it the world’s most valuable automotive company. With such positive news, there doesn’t seem to be anything stopping the company as it races to achieve its ambitious plan of delivering 1 million EVs per year.

To achieve this lofty goal, Tesla is constantly increasing its production capacity by adding new factories at an incredible rate. It is currently building new factories near Berlin and in Austin.

The EV maker is also expanding its Gigafactory Shanghai which just opened in March 2020. It also plans to add more production capacity at its Gigafactory Nevada and Fremont factory.

But Tesla is not stopping there as it has plans to build more factories as part of its mission to accelerate the advent of electric transportation and renewable energy. 

Tesla’s chief executive officer Elon Musk hinted that the company is poised to build another Tesla Gigafactory in Asia and this time, it will not be in China. When asked on Twitter whether Musk will expand his mega factories outside of China, the billionaire engineer responded:

On one hand, Musk has confirmed Tesla has plans to build a new factory in the continent although, without divulging any other details beyond the word “Asia”, that is open to speculation. Offhand, the two top countries that are likely candidates for Tesla next mega factory are Japan and South Korea, two matured markets with strong automotive industries.

Beyond that Musk didn’t even offer a hint at the timeline aside from Tesla focusing on finishing the current two factories that are under development. If all goes well, those factories are supposed to be completed in 2020 and the first EVs will roll out by end of the year.

[SOURCE, IMAGE SOURCE]

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