Tesla Inc is building a new stationary site “RNA microfactories” for coronavirus vaccine developer CureVac in Germany, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, tweeted on Wednesday.
CureVac, a German company, has said it is developing transportable, automated mRNA production units that it calls printers. They will be planned to be shipped to remote locations, where they can produce its vaccine candidate and other mRNA-based therapies depending on the recipe fed into the machine.
According to the company, building a new stationary site could increase its output tenfold to billions of doses. Musk did not elaborate on his plans.
On the other hand, the immediate pandemic use – should its vaccine candidate win market approval – it has production sites with regulatory approval in Germany with a capacity to produce hundreds of millions of doses.
The printers are being built at Tesla Grohmann Automation in Germany. Tesla acquired the company in 2016, which develops automated manufacturing systems for batteries and fuel cells.
CureVac has funding for its COVID-19 vaccine programs from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which includes support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.