The CEO also said that Tesla started building Model Y SUVs late last year at its new factory in Texas
Tesla (TSLA) – Get Tesla Inc Report promised on Wednesday to make announcements about new factories by the end of the year.
“2022 is the year we will be looking at factory locations to see what makes the most sense with possibly some announcement by the end of this year,” said CEO Elon Musk during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings.
The electric vehicle manufacturer also said that it has started the production of the Model Y at its new plant in Austin, Texas.
“In Texas we’re building the Model Y with the structural battery pack,” announced Musk, adding that “we will start delivering after final certification vehicle which should be fairly soon.”
In its fourth-quarter report, the company said that “builds of Model Ys started in late 2021 at Gigafactory Texas. After final certification of Austin-made Model Y, we plan to start deliveries to customers,” Tesla said in its fourth-quarter earnings report.
Tesla currently has four production sites: Fremont in California, Shanghai in China, Austin in Texas and Berlin in Germany. But only the first three are producing the cars the company currently sells.
Fremont hosts assemblies lines for the Model S, Model X, Model Y and Model 3, while Shanghai only produces Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y.
The company also has a gigafactory in Nevada, which produces electric motors and lithium-ion battery packs for the Model 3 sedan, and a gigafactory in Buffalo, NY, focused on solar energy rather than EVs.
Shares of Tesla fell $10.51, or 1.1% to $926.90 in after-hours trading on Wednesday.