Connect with us
tesla tilburg tesla tilburg

News

Tesla could reveal new Gigafactory location by end of 2023: Elon Musk

Credit: Tesla

Published

on

Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed earlier today in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the electric automaker could reveal the location of its next production facility by the end of 2023.

“We will probably pick another location towards the end of this year,” Musk said during the interview earlier today. It fuels months of speculation has several locations across the globe spar in an attempt to win over the next manufacturing plant of the leading electric automaker.

Tesla already operates several production facilities across the globe: one in Fremont, California, another in Austin, Texas one in Berlin, Germany, and one in Shanghai, China. Tesla announced that it would build another production plant in Mexico earlier this year, but it has yet to break ground on this facility.

There is no indication as to where the plant could end up. As of now there are several locations that are hoping to land Tesla’s next premier production facility, which will only help the automaker, expand its global footprint of sustainable powertrain producing factories.

Advertisement

With that being said, several countries are certainly in the running to land Tesla’s next plant. India has been one location Tesla has seemed favorable of. However, company has sought to have hefty import duties reduced in an effort to test demand in the country before committing to a plant.

Additionally, recent meetings with Musk and government officials have put France in the running to land Tesla’s next plant. But it is much more complicated than that. Canada is another location that many people are supporting in terms of Tesla’s next manufacturing plant.

As the Fremont, California and Shanghai, China, plants are already producing vehicles at max capacity. Tesla is still in the process of ramping up production in Berlin and in Austin.

The company is already well on track to achieving its 1.8 million unit production bogey for 2023. However, Musk has stated that Tesla has the capacity to produce 2 million units this year.

Advertisement

If all goes according to plan, Tesla should have the new factories location finalized by the end of 2023. It is likely that years of negotiations with the Indian government will pay off, but if it doesn’t, Tesla has many other countries that would be more than willing to cater to the company’s demands.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

Advertisement
Comments

Lifestyle

Tesla makes the cut on California’s newest EV Rebate program

California just signed a $270 million EV rebate into law and it starts this summer.

Published

on

By

tesla fremont

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 168 into law on Monday, July 13, 2026, creating a $270 million EV rebate program that delivers money directly at the dealership rather than as a tax credit applied months later. The program, called MyFirstEV, is funded equally by California’s state budget and participating automakers, with each contributing $135.5 million to make the math work.

The timing is directly tied to the loss of federal support when the $7,500 federal EV tax credit ended, removing the most significant consumer incentive that had driven EV adoption in the U.S. California, which accounts for roughly one-third of all EVs sold nationally, moved to fill that gap with a state-level replacement.

The rebate structure is straightforward. First-time EV buyers can receive $3,500 off any new battery-electric vehicle with an MSRP up to $50,000. Used EVs priced at $25,000 or below qualify for a $1,750 rebate. The credit is applied at the point of sale, which removes the friction of the old federal system where buyers had to wait for tax season to see the benefit. The program goes live later this summer, with the California Air Resources Board expected to release full participation details next month.

California hits Tesla Cybercab and Robotaxi driverless cars with new law

Advertisement

For Tesla buyers, the implications are mixed. The Tesla Model 3 RWD at $42,490 and the Model 3 Long Range at $47,490 both fall under the $50,000 cap and would qualify for the full $3,500 rebate for first-time buyers. The Model Y, which starts at $44,990 after Tesla’s recent price adjustment, also qualifies. The Model X, Model S, and Cybertruck all exceed the cap and receive no benefit. As Teslarati has reported, the program also includes a carve-out exempting California-based automakers like Rivian and Lucid from the price cap entirely, a provision that puts Tesla at a disadvantage since it relocated its headquarters to Texas in 2021.

Other qualifying vehicles include the Chevrolet Equinox EV, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and Volkswagen ID.4.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla Semi enters new Pilot Program with interesting challenge

Published

on

Credit: PTI

The Tesla Semi is entering a new Pilot Program with Paper Transport, LLC (PTI), a Wisconsin-based transportation provider. The company will test the Semi’s Long Range configuration through “dedicated operations within the Chicago market.”

Chicago presents an interesting challenge for the Semi, as it will be a colder-weather climate that will test the Semi’s ability to operate in lower temperatures and in potentially large accumulations of snow. This is something Tesla has been testing with the Semi in Alaska and even in Northern California during the colder months, but Chicago will present a truly tough midwestern winter.

Tesla Semi spotted on journey home after winter performance testing

PTI says it is using the Semi to evaluate its strategy of reducing transportation emissions while maintaining performance, reliability, and cost efficiency. These are major arguments for the Semi being introduced into new fleets.

Advertisement

CEO of PTI Tyler Ellison said:

“PTI has been a leader in sustainable transportation solutions for over 15 years. We take a consultative approach to helping customers identify and implement the right transportation solution for their network. Our partnership with Tesla expands our portfolio alongside renewable natural gas and intermodal, giving customers more ways to reduce Scope 3 emissions without compromising service or economics.”

PTI is far from the first company to adopt the Semi within a fleet, as Tesla entered strategic agreements with PepsiCo. and its subsidiary Frito-Lay for a Pilot Program that extended throughout the California region.

Tesla has let companies like those utilize the Semi to determine whether it would be suitable for their operations. Additionally, Tesla gets valuable information regarding the Semi’s performance, knowing what to improve and what is ideal for companies that will utilize the all-electric truck for regional and nationwide logistics.

Advertisement

PTI plans to utilize the Long Range configuration, which is priced at $290,000 and features a range of approximately 500 miles, a three-motor powertrain, up to 800 kW of drive power, and consumption of just 1.7 kWh per mile.

Tesla Semi pricing revealed after company uncovers trim levels

VP of Maintenance at PTI, Bryan Ellen, added:

“We are excited to partner with Tesla, leveraging their ever-evolving technology. We are bullish in our estimation of the parallels available between our dedicated model and the efficiency of their fully electric Class 8 tractor. We anticipate a growing synergy between our businesses as we work to facilitate this sustainable solution for our customers.”

Advertisement

PTI has logged more than 87 million miles using sources like compressed and renewable gas, but now is looking to take it a step further with fully electric operations.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla is building a wheelchair-accessible Robotaxi

Published

on

A beautiful spring landscape at SoFi Stadium with lush green palm trees and plants with powerful clouds at sunset in Inglewood California USA. (Credit: Tesla)

Tesla revealed on Monday that it is building a new autonomous vehicle at Gigafactory Texas, its plant just outside of the City of Austin. This particular vehicle will be geared toward those who are in need of a wheelchair-accessible car that would require no human driver for operation.

According to a new report from Wired, Tesla’s Senior Policy Advisor, India Herdman, told members of the Washington D.C. City Council on Monday:

“We are in development for a purpose-built, wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicle. We know that paratransit can be very difficult, and people who are confined to wheelchairs permanently should still be able to move around freely, so that is an active product being built by Tesla in Texas.”

This builds upon what CEO Elon Musk said last year on X, which confirmed the company was working on accessible rides within its Robotaxi platform, which currently is confined to the Model Y.

Advertisement

Tesla is also developing the Cybercab, which started employee rides last week. However, this vehicle is not necessarily geared toward wheelchair accessibility.

That leaves a major gap in the autonomous ride-sharing program that Tesla is attempting to build; the company has been pretty clear that it does not want to complicate its manufacturing lines by bringing in a wide array of body styles.

Advertisement

However, it seems necessary to have something larger that could help transport people to appointments when they cannot drive. For wheelchair accessibility, the Robovan, which was unveiled at the “We, Robot” event in October 2024, seems to be the most ideal solution:

Tesla unveils the Robovan at ‘We, Robot’ event

Herdman did not indicate whether she was referring to the Robovan or if Tesla is building yet another body style that is geared toward full autonomy but also caters to the handicapped.

Tesla might need to develop something specifically for the handicapped in order to align with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prevents discrimination against people with disabilities in transportation services. Uber was hit with a lawsuit late last year for “refusing to reasonably modify its policies, practices, or procedures where necessary to avoid discriminating against riders with disabilities.”

Advertisement

Tesla would obviously like to avoid this.

It will be interesting to see what Tesla will do with this project, and whether it will introduce something new to the market or just continue with the Robovan.

Continue Reading