Tesla plans $700 million expansion of new Texas plant

Tesla Inc. has applied for construction permits to move ahead with more than $700 million in investments on the Austin, Texas, campus of its newest manufacturing plant.

The funds are earmarked for a “ground up and complete interior finish out of the EV manufacturing facility,” with construction starting later this month and ending early next year, according to filings dated Monday with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

It’s unclear how much of that investment is included in the more than $1 billion Tesla has said it planned to spend on the plant.

Tesla didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. The investment was reported earlier by the Austin Business Journal.

The EV market leader started production at the factory last year and currently makes its battery-powered Model Y passenger vehicle at the plant. Tesla relocated its headquarters to Austin from Palo Alto, Calif., in late 2021.