Tesla will spend up to $12B on EV and battery production in coming years

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We know Tesla has big plans for electric car production and battery projects in the coming years, but the price tag to go along with them could top $12 billion. According to Tesla's 10-Q filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the automaker plans to spend anywhere between $4.5 billion and $6 billion in the next two fiscal years. Yes, those figures come with a big "B" on them. No one said building production plants was cheap, and Tesla has two of them under construction — one in Berlin, Germany and another in Austin, Texas.

The massive sums of money will not only go toward facility production, but eventual vehicle production as well. Tesla explicitly notes the capital expenditures will be a tad fluid as various projects' priorities come into play. It also accounts for "adjustments" to existing products. At the same time, the company is still working to ramp up Model Y and Solar Roof production, and new battery cell technologies remain on the horizon as well.

Crucially, amid all of this, the report says, "We expect our ability to be self-funding to continue as long as macroeconomic factors support current trends in our sales." In layman's terms, as long as people keep buying Teslas, the company won't need to raise more money. But, we've heard similar comments from CEO Elon Musk in the past, only to see Tesla move to raise more cash. The report also declares Tesla made just a smidge under $5 billion with its common stock split back in September, which the automaker said seriously strengthened its liquidity.

Come 2022, Tesla could look a whole lot different. Its Gigafactories in Berlin and Austin should be online, both producing the Model Y SUV. The former will build the highly anticipated Cybertruck as well. Curiously, the documents show the upcoming next-generation Roadster and Semi are still not assigned a production facility, but look for the Semi to take priority, in light of leaked communications from Musk readying his team to bring the vehicle to mass production next year.