Elon Musk Teases Plans For Another Tesla Gigafactory But Says EV Maker Hasn't Zeroed In On Russia

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk said on Monday the electric vehicle maker hasn't yet decided on the fourth Gigafactory location. 

What Happened: Musk took to Twitter to respond to a fan query citing a report that Tesla is planning to build a Giga factory in Russia.

The report citing unnamed government sources claimed Tesla has chosen Korolev, Russia as its next Gigafactory location.

The billionaire entrepreneur seemed to suggest Tesla is exploring options for its next gigafactory but dismissed the idea of having finalized Russia as the location.

Tesla has not yet decided on a fourth Gigafactory location

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 20, 2021

See Also: Tesla Said To Have Halted Plans To Expand Giga Shanghai Production Over Strained US-China Relations

Why It Matters: The Palo Alto, California-based Tesla has ambitious expansion plans and is known to be scouting for a location for its next Gigafactory. Musk has in the past said he plans to have one gigafactory in every continent where the company sells its vehicles. 

Tesla, which aims to grow its production capacity to one million vehicles a year and about 20 million electric vehicles a year by 2030, has been expanding the company’s production capability. It is building a new Gigafactory in Berlin, Austin Texas, and is expanding production capacity at its Fremont facility as well as the Shanghai Gigafactory. 

Price Action: Tesla shares closed 3.86% lower at $730.17 on Monday.

Benzinga's Take: It isn't immediately clear what Musk means by "fourth" gigafactory location. Tesla currently has five gigafactories announced — New York, Nevada, Shanghai, Berlin and Texas, the latter two being under construction. The ones in Nevada, Shanghai, Berlin and Texas were or are being built from the ground up.

It's possible that either Musk misspoke or he meant to say "country," instead of "location."

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Photo: Courtesy of Tesla