Tesla (TSLA) confirmed that it is increasing its planned capital spending to $10 billion this year as it tries to achieve its next growth phase.
Lately, Tesla has described itself as being “between two major growth waves”. The first wave was the ramp-up of Model 3 and Model Y production, which appears to be now plateauing.
The second wave is expected to be the ramp-up of its next-generation vehicles, which are coming in late 2025.
In the meantime, Tesla is stuck with its current lineup, which can still grow a bit, but at nowhere near the pace of Model 3/Y.
In order to prepare for this next phase of growth and other products in the work, Tesla has disclosed upcoming record spending, according to a new SEC filing.
In its 10-K SEC filing today, Tesla confirmed that it spent $8.9 billion in capital expenditure in 2023:
Capital expenditures amounted to $8.90 billion in 2023, compared to $7.16 billion in 2022, representing an increase of $1.74 billion. Sustained growth has allowed our business to generally fund itself, and we will continue investing in a number of capital-intensive projects and research and development in upcoming periods.
That was a new record of spending for Tesla in 2023, but now the company says that it will be even higher this year.
Tesla disclosed that it plans to spend more than $10 billion this year:
Owing and subject to the foregoing as well as the pipeline of announced projects under development, all other continuing infrastructure growth and varying levels of inflation, we currently expect our capital expenditures to exceed $10.00 billion in 2024 and be between $8.00 to $10.00 billion in each of the following two fiscal years.
The company doesn’t disclose exactly where this money is going to go, but the automaker is always heavily investing in manufacturing operations and it is still growing Gigafactory Texas and Berlin.
It’s possible that Tesla will start spending more on Gigafactory Mexico this year – although the company is not committing to a start of construction any time soon.
One of the categories that could be driving Tesla’s higher spending this year is EV infrastructure. Tesla is growing the Supercharger network at an incredibly fast pace, and it’s a capital-heavy category. You have to build the stations and install them at full cost while seeing the return over years, if not decades, as EV drivers start to use these stations.
In 2024, Tesla needs to grow the Supercharger network faster and bigger than ever, especially in North America where it will finally start to on-board non-Tesla drivers in a more meaningful way for the first time.
Tesla also continues to invest billions in computing power to support its AI initiatives. The company recently disclosed a new $500 million Dojo computer cluster coming to New York. CEO Elon Musk also confirmed that Tesla will spend even more money on NVIDIA and AMD processors this year.
Interestingly, the company guides that spending will go down in 2025-2026 compared to 2024.
Where else do you think Tesla will spend a lot of money in 2024? Let us know in the comment section below.
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The US Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $1.2 billion in financing to replace Puerto Rico’s fossil fuel plants with solar and battery storage through 2032.
The DOE’s Loan Programs Office announced two conditional commitments and one loan closing to power producers in Puerto Rico. Each supports a project contracted with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. The announcements include:
The closing of a $584.5 million loan guarantee to subsidiaries of Convergent Energy to finance a 100 MW solar farm with a 55 MW (55 MWh) battery energy storage system (BESS) in the municipality of Coamo and BESS installations in the municipalities of Caguas (25MW/100MWh), Peñuelas (100MW/400MWh), and Ponce (up to 100MW/400MWh)
A conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $133.6 million to a subsidiary of Infinigen for a 32.1 MW solar farm with an integrated 14.45 MW (4.76 MWh) BESS, and a co-located standalone 50 MW (200 MWh) BESS expansion in the municipality of Yabucoa
A conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $489.4 million to a subsidiary of Pattern Energy for three stand-alone BESS in the municipalities of Arecibo (50 MW/200 MWh), and Santa Isabel (50 MW /200 MWh and 80 MW/320 MW), and a 70 MW solar farm with an integrated BESS in the municipality of Arecibo.
If all are finalized, these projects would more than double LPO’s support for utility-scale solar generation and battery energy storage in Puerto Rico.
LPO provides low-cost financing and a rigorous due diligence process, making it a valuable resource for Puerto Rico as it works to rebuild an affordable, reliable, and clean energy system. As a result of reliance on imported fuel, the persistent threat of tropical storms, and underinvested infrastructure, Puerto Ricans today face average energy costs that are twice the US average – all while consuming only one-quarter of the energy of the US per capita.
LPO’s initial loan to a power producer in Puerto Rico, Project Marahu, closed in October 2024, and when complete will add more than 200 MW of solar and up to 285 MW of stand-alone energy storage to Puerto Rico’s grid.
Through its September 2023 partial loan guarantee to Project Hestia, LPO also supports virtual power plant (VPP)-ready rooftop solar and battery storage installations in Puerto Rico. As a nationwide project, Hestia’s sponsor is committed to at least 20% of installations under Project Hestia going to homeowners in Puerto Rico.
As part of its procurement plan, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority seeks to install 1,500 MW of battery storage and requires a minimum capacity of storage to be co-located with each utility-scale solar project. Energy storage systems currently online in Puerto Rico are being dispatched every day.
When including Marahu, LPO’s closed and conditionally committed financing supports over 100% of the capacity Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority aimed to procure under its initial request for energy storage project proposals, the first of six.
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Chevy just introduced new deals on the Equinox and Blazer EV models to make them even more affordable. With 0% interest and a new trade-in bonus, Chevy is offering over $5,000 in savings.
Chevy adds new Equinox and Blazer EV deals in January
Although the Chevy Equinox EV is already “the most affordable” EV in its class with over 315 miles range, it’s getting even cheaper.
Earlier this week, Chevy launched new deals on the 2024 Equinox and Blazer EV models. According to a note sent to dealers, viewed by CarsDirect, the electric SUVs are now available with 0% APR financing for 60 months. You can also choose from 0.9% AP for 72 months and 2.9% APR for 84 months.
This marks the best financing offer on Chevy’s newest EVs to date. The previous best rates were 0.9% APR for 60 months, 3.9% for 72 months, and 5.9% for the longer 84-month option.
On a 7-year $45,000 loan, online auto research firm CarsDirect estimates the new deals amount to around a $5,200 price cut. The lower APR rates are already offered on the Chevrolet Silverado EV pickup.
In addition, Chevy is offering a trade-in bonus of up to $3,000 on the Silverado EV and $1,000 on the electric Equinox and Blazer models. If you choose to lease, the bonus is cut in half: $1,500 for the Silverado and $500 for the electric SUVs.
Chevy’s new EV deals started on January 14 and run through March 3, 2025. The deals come as rivals like Hyundai and Ford recently launched new EV promotions.
On Thursday, Hyundai launched a new promo on the upgraded 2025 IONIQ 5, which includes monthly leases as low as $199 and a free ChargePoint home EV charger (or $400 charging credit). Meanwhile, Ford extended its “Power Promise” program earlier this month, which also includes a free home charger, among several other benefits.
The 2024 Chevy Equinox EV started at $41,900 with up to 315 miles range. Prices for the electric Chevy Blazer start at $43,690 with up to 279 miles range.
If you are ready to try out Chevy’s new electric SUVs for yourself, we’ve got you covered. You can use our links below to view offers on the Chevy Equinox, Silverado, and Blazer EV models near you.
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss non-Tesla EVs getting Supercharger access, Cybertruck sales in the spotlight, Rivian getting some money from Biden, and more.
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