An employee works on a Telsa Motors Model S sedan as it makes its way along an assembly line at company's assembly plant in Fremont, California.

Tesla is doubling the size of the factory in Fremont, California, where it makes its cars.

The company recently submitted a plan to the city of Fremont for an additional 4.5 million square feet of buildings, essentially doubling the amount of factory space. The move comes as the company sets the ambitious goal of increasing its manufacturing output to 500,000 by the end of 2018, even as some analysts and investors have worried about its track record of missing delivery targets.

Tesla said earlier this month that its production numbers hit a new record of 25,185 for the third quarter, a 37 percent rise over the previous quarter. Still the company will probably badly need the new space to meet not only its overall production goal, but also a successful rollout of the Model 3 sedan —Tesla's chance to break into the mid-priced car market.



Earlier this year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company is aiming to make 100,000 to 200,000 Model 3 sedans alone in just the second half of 2017. At its current rate of roughly 2,000 cars per week, the company would only make 104,000 total cars for the whole year.

This is what the plan looks like, according to the proposal: