Tesla said on Tuesday (Jan 31) it expects a jump in capital expenditure next year as the electric-vehicle maker increases production of a new battery cell and the Semi heavy duty truck.
The company, led by billionaire Elon Musk, forecast capital expenditure between US$7 billion and US$9 billion in 2024 and 2025. The midpoint of that forecast is US$1 billion higher than the US$6 billion to US$8 billion range provided for this year.
Some of the spending will go toward a US$3.6 billion expansion of its Nevada Gigafactory complex, where Tesla is building a factory to mass produce its long-delayed Semi truck and another 4680 cell plant that would be able to make enough batteries for 2 million light-duty vehicles annually.
The company is also boosting output at its facilities in Germany’s Berlin and Austin, Texas, while struggling with high costs of raw materials such as lithium used in batteries.
Shares of the company were down 1.8 per cent in premarket trading.
The automaker has been using its strong profit margins and production scale in a price war to help fend off rising competition and boost demand at a time the economy is slowing.
Its filing on Tuesday also showed that Tesla recorded an impairment loss of US$204 million on the bitcoin it holds, while booking a gain of US$64 million from converting the token into fiat currency.
Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin were hammered last year as rising interest rates and the collapse of major industry players such as crypto exchange FTX shook investor confidence.
