Tesla has signed a lease for 108,000 square feet of research and development space in Fremont, expanding its presence in the East Bay. The electric vehicle company will occupy the entire building at 45401 Research Avenue, which is owned by Lincoln Property Company, according to the San Francisco Business Times.
The lease was finalized late last year and marks the second-largest R&D lease in the fourth quarter, following Figure AI’s deal for about 115,000 square feet in San Jose. Tesla has not revealed which part of its business will use the new facility. The building is designed to support both office and research and development activities.
Tesla moved its headquarters from Palo Alto to Texas in 2021 but continues to operate facilities throughout the Bay Area. These include an engineering hub in Palo Alto, a distribution center in Hayward spanning 149,000 square feet, and a manufacturing plant covering 210,000 square feet in Fremont. The main Fremont facility at 48401 Fremont Boulevard is roughly three miles south of the newly leased Research Avenue site.
The region has attracted several automotive engineering firms recently. Rivian set up autonomous driving and technology operations in Palo Alto; General Motors established an artificial intelligence center in Mountain View and is reportedly seeking a larger Silicon Valley campus; Toyota’s software and autonomy division is moving into a renovated property in Santa Clara.
Fremont continues to be a key location for industrial growth. Investors have shown interest as well: this month saw two major industrial properties change hands. Prologis sold a 26-acre industrial site at 41777 Boyce Road for $70.1 million, while Morgan Stanley Investment Management bought a two-building manufacturing facility totaling 290,000 square feet at 44100 and 44200 Osgood Road from Angelo Gordon for $110.3 million.
