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A look at Tesla’s potential new Gigafactory locations: Mexico, Canada, Indonesia or South Korea
Recent reports indicate that Tesla’s new gigafactory could be located in Mexico. The EV maker is expected to announce the location of its new factory this week.
Besides Mexico, there have been a few locations that Tesla has considered for its new gigafactory. Even if Mexico is Tesla’s new gigafactory location, the other places in the running are not completely out of the question.
Tesla North America
Canada and Mexico are the top choices for Tesla’s new gigafactory in North America. Cars made in either country would benefit from the United States’ new EV subsidies.
Between the two, Tesla appears to be leaning more towards Gigafactory Mexico. Although Tesla also appears to be considering a partnership with Canada for parts.
Tesla Giga Mexico
Sources close to the matter told Bloomberg News that Tesla plans to announce its new gigafactory in Mexico later this week. The plan will reportedly be located in Santa Catarina, Monterrey City. Tesla still has to iron out a few details regarding Giga Mexico.
The company has been talking with the state government of Nuevo Leon and Mexico’s foresight relations ministry over the past few weeks. The EV manufacturer has already established a good business relationship with the state government of Nuevo Leon.
Tesla has an exclusive customs lane for parts from the Nuevo Leon border into Texas. Another benefit to building in Mexico is that Tesla vehicles would still qualify for EV subsidies in the United States from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Tesla Giga Canada
Elon Musk teased a possible gigafactory in Canada during Giga Texas’ Cyber Rodeo event earlier this year. Tesla has been active in Canada these past few months through lobbying efforts and discussions with Canadian officials.
In September, Canada’s Minister of Industry Francois-Philippe Champagne stated that Tesla did discuss the possibility of building a factory in Canada. Earlier this year, Champagne emphasized that Canada hopes to be the auto industry’s new “supplier of choice.” Canada has the minerals and supplies automakers need to manufacture electric vehicles and EV batteries. In August, for instance, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz signed separate agreements with Canada for EV battery materials.
Tesla already has a facility in Canada that builds some of the machines the company uses in its gigafactories worldwide. A gigafactory in Canada would also qualify for EV subsidies in the IRA.
Tesla Gigafactories in Asia
Gigafactory Shanghai will likely be Tesla’s main headquarters in Asia. However, as the EV maker expands its presence in all of Asia, it would need to partner with more Asian countries. Indonesia and South Korea are two viable partners that could boost Tesla’s supply chain and presence in the East.
Tesla Indonesia
Elon Musk has met with Indonesia’s President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo multiple times this past year. Jokowi has been working hard to establish a relationship with Musk and form a partnership between Indonesia and Tesla.
In August, Tesla reportedly signed a nickel contract with Indonesia worth $5 billion. Indonesia has major nickel reserves, attracting car makers worldwide, like Tesla. However, Jokowi emphasized his desire to build fully electric vehicles in the country.
“What we want is the electric car, not the battery. For Tesla, we want them to build electric cars in Indonesia. We want a huge ecosystem of electric cars,” President Jokowi said.
Tesla South Korea
Last month, South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-Yeol reportedly talked with Elon Musk. According to officials in President Yoon’s office South Korea was a top candidate for Tesla’s next factory in Asia.
Elon Musk and President Yoon discussed Tesla increasing its cooperation with South Korea in terms of supply chain. The South Korean President also offered special incentives to encourage investments from Tesla and SpaceX.
“If Tesla, SpaceX or other companies are considering more investment in [South] Korea, including constructing a gigafactory, the government will do our best to support the investment,” President Yoon said.
Tesla is expected to announce the location of its next gigafactory later this week. Mexico appears to be the location of choice. However, given Tesla’s activities in other countries, Canada, Indonesia, and South Korea might not be entirely out of the running.
What do you think of these locations for Tesla’sTesla’s next gigafactory? Does Tesla need another partner in Asia? Tell us in the comments below.
If you have any tips, contact me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101.
Tesla has announced it has hit a major milestone with Full Self-Driving subscriptions, shortly after it said it would exclusively offer the suite without the option to purchase it outright.
Tesla announced on Wednesday during its Q4 Earnings Call for 2025 that it had officially eclipsed the one million subscription mark for its Full Self-Driving suite. This represented a 38 percent increase year-over-year.
This is up from the roughly 800,000 active subscriptions it reported last year. The company has seen significant increases in FSD adoption over the past few years, as in 2021, it reported just 400,000. In 2022, it was up to 500,000 and, one year later, it had eclipsed 600,000.
NEWS: For the first time, Tesla has revealed how many people are subscribed or have purchased FSD (Supervised).
Active FSD Subscriptions:
• 2025: 1.1 million
• 2024: 800K
• 2023: 600K
• 2022: 500K
• 2021: 400K pic.twitter.com/KVtnyANWcs— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) January 28, 2026
In mid-January, CEO Elon Musk announced that the company would transition away from giving the option to purchase the Full Self-Driving suite outright, opting for the subscription program exclusively.
Musk said on X:
“Tesla will stop selling FSD after Feb 14. FSD will only be available as a monthly subscription thereafter.”
The move intends to streamline the Full Self-Driving purchase option, and gives Tesla more control over its revenue, and closes off the ability to buy it outright for a bargain when Musk has said its value could be close to $100,000 when it reaches full autonomy.
It also caters to Musk’s newest compensation package. One tranche requires Tesla to achieve 10 million active FSD subscriptions, and now that it has reached one million, it is already seeing some growth.
The strategy that Tesla will use to achieve this lofty goal is still under wraps. The most ideal solution would be to offer a less expensive version of the suite, which is not likely considering the company is increasing its capabilities, and it is becoming more robust.
Tesla is shifting FSD to a subscription-only model, confirms Elon Musk
Currently, Tesla’s FSD subscription price is $99 per month, but Musk said this price will increase, which seems counterintuitive to its goal of increasing the take rate. With that being said, it will be interesting to see what Tesla does to navigate growth while offering a robust FSD suite.
News
Tesla confirms Robotaxi expansion plans with new cities and aggressive timeline
Tesla plans to launch in Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas. It lists the Bay Area as “Safety Driver,” and Austin as “Ramping Unsupervised.”
Tesla confirmed its intentions to expand the Robotaxi program in the United States with an aggressive timeline that aims to send the ride-hailing service to several large cities very soon.
The Robotaxi program is currently active in Austin, Texas, and the California Bay Area, but Tesla has received some approvals for testing in other areas of the U.S., although it has not launched in those areas quite yet.
However, the time is coming.
During Tesla’s Q4 Earnings Call last night, the company confirmed that it plans to expand the Robotaxi program aggressively, hoping to launch in seven new cities in the first half of the year.
Tesla plans to launch in Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas. It lists the Bay Area as “Safety Driver,” and Austin as “Ramping Unsupervised.”
These details were released in the Earnings Shareholder Deck, which is published shortly before the Earnings Call:
🚨 BREAKING: Tesla plans to launch its Robotaxi service in Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas in the first half of this year pic.twitter.com/aTnruz818v
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 28, 2026
Late last year, Tesla revealed it had planned to launch Robotaxi in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, and Houston, but Tampa and Orlando were just added to the plans, signaling an even more aggressive expansion than originally planned.
Tesla feels extremely confident in its Robotaxi program, and that has been reiterated many times.
Although skeptics still remain hesitant to believe the prowess Tesla has seemingly proven in its development of an autonomous driving suite, the company has been operating a successful program in Austin and the Bay Area for months.
In fact, it announced it achieved nearly 700,000 paid Robotaxi miles since launching Robotaxi last June.
🚨 Tesla has achieved nearly 700,000 paid Robotaxi miles since launching in June of last year pic.twitter.com/E8ldSW36La
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 28, 2026
With the expansion, Tesla will be able to penetrate more of the ride-sharing market, disrupting the human-operated platforms like Uber and Lyft, which are usually more expensive and are dependent on availability.
Tesla launched driverless rides in Austin last week, but they’ve been few and far between, as the company is certainly easing into the program with a very cautiously optimistic attitude, aiming to prioritize safety.
Investor's Corner
Tesla (TSLA) Q4 and FY 2025 earnings call: The most important points
Executives, including CEO Elon Musk, discussed how the company is positioning itself for growth across vehicles, energy, AI, and robotics despite near-term pressures from tariffs, pricing, and macro conditions.
Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Q4 and FY 2025 earnings call highlighted improving margins, record energy performance, expanding autonomy efforts, and a sharp acceleration in AI and robotics investments.
Executives, including CEO Elon Musk, discussed how the company is positioning itself for growth across vehicles, energy, AI, and robotics despite near-term pressures from tariffs, pricing, and macro conditions.
Key takeaways
Tesla reported sequential improvement in automotive gross margins excluding regulatory credits, rising from 15.4% to 17.9%, supported by favorable regional mix effects despite a 16% decline in deliveries. Total gross margin exceeded 20.1%, the highest level in more than two years, even with lower fixed-cost absorption and tariff impacts.
The energy business delivered standout results, with revenue reaching nearly $12.8 billion, up 26.6% year over year. Energy gross profit hit a new quarterly record, driven by strong global demand and high deployments of MegaPack and Powerwall across all regions, as noted in a report from The Motley Fool.
Tesla also stated that paid Full Self-Driving customers have climbed to nearly 1.1 million worldwide, with about 70% having purchased FSD outright. The company has now fully transitioned FSD to a subscription-based sales model, which should create a short-term margin headwind for automotive results.
Free cash flow totaled $1.4 billion for the quarter. Operating expenses rose by $500 million sequentially as well.
Production shifts, robotics, and AI investment
Musk further confirmed that Model S and Model X production is expected to wind down next quarter, and plans are underway to convert Fremont’s S/X line into an Optimus robot factory with a capacity of one million units.
Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet has surpassed 500 vehicles, operating across the Bay Area and Austin, with Musk noting a rapid monthly expansion pace. He also reiterated that CyberCab production is expected to begin in April, following a slow initial S-curve ramp before scaling beyond other vehicle programs.
Looking ahead, Tesla expects its capital expenditures to exceed $20 billion next year, thanks to the company’s operations across its six factories, the expansion of its fleet expansion, and the ramp of its AI compute. Additional investments in AI chips, compute infrastructure, and future in-house semiconductor manufacturing were discussed but are not included in the company’s current CapEx guidance.
More importantly, Tesla ended the year with a larger backlog than in recent years. This is supported by record deliveries in smaller international markets and stronger demand across APAC and EMEA. Energy backlog remains strong globally as well, though Tesla cautioned that margin pressure could emerge from competition, policy uncertainty, and tariffs.
Tesla hits major milestone with Full Self-Driving subscriptions
Tesla confirms Robotaxi expansion plans with new cities and aggressive timeline
