Tesla Considers Austin, Texas For New Gigafactory

Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,

Tesla is considering buying a property near Austin, Texas, for the possible construction of a new electric vehicle manufacturing plant, an application to the Texas Comptroller’s Office shows. 

Elon Musk said that the EV manufacturer is considering several options for the new plant.

“Tesla Inc is evaluating the possible development, design, and construction of a high-tech electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Travis County within the Austin Green property located at the intersection of SH130 and Harold Green Road,” the EV maker said, noting that if the sale goes through and all required approvals are obtained, construction could begin in the third quarter of 2020.

If the new EV manufacturing plant is built in Texas, it would create 5,000 jobs in the state, Tesla said in its application.

“Tesla has an option to purchase this land, but has not exercised it,” Musk tweeted on Thursday, replying to a news story reporting that it had already acquired the property in Travis County.

Asked if Tulsa, Oklahoma, is also in the mix, Musk said that “We are considering several options.”

If Tesla were to pick Austin for the next factory, it could save more than US$68 million on property taxes during the next decade, the Austin American-Statesman reported this week.

Last month, Tesla and the state of California were in a bitter dispute over the reopening of the Fremont factory during the lockdown. Tesla reopened its factory in Fremont, California, in violation of a shutdown order issued by the health authorities of Alameda County, and Musk threatened to move Tesla’s headquarters out of California to Texas or Nevada.

“Texas is a perfect fit for Tesla,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said last month, while Tulsa, Oklahoma, has found a novel way to advertise itself to Tesla, which is looking for a location for a new car factory. The city has started work on one of its landmarks, the Golden Driller statue, to make it look like Musk.