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Tesla Permit Application Hints at New Fremont Assembly Line

It’s unclear from the application whether the line has anything to do with Tesla’s upcoming Model Y crossover.

Tesla Permit Application Hints at New Fremont Assembly Line
A line of new Tesla Model X sports utility vehicles (SUV), center, sit with Tesla Model S automobiles following assembly for the European market at the Tesla Motors Inc. factory in Tilburg, Netherlands.(Photographer: Jasper Juinen/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Tesla Inc. has applied for a permit from the city home to its lone assembly plant that hints the electric-car maker could be planning another assembly line.

The application to the city of Fremont, California, describes the project it’s seeking a permit for as “GA5 demo and rough grading.” GA refers to general assembly, and Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has previously said that Tesla has been running several lines to produce the Model 3, S and X.

Tesla Permit Application Hints at New Fremont Assembly Line

It’s unclear from the application whether the line has anything to do with Tesla’s upcoming Model Y crossover, which the company was preparing for in Fremont before second-quarter earnings were announced on July 24. Space is tight at the factory, with workers already making some Model 3 sedans on an assembly line under a massive tent erected outside the facility. While the structure was initially mocked by critics, it’s helped boost production and support record deliveries.

Tesla shares slipped 0.5% to $230.59 as of 9:45 a.m. Tuesday in New York. Representatives for the company didn’t respond to a request for comment on the permit application.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dana Hull in San Francisco at dhull12@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net, Chester Dawson

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