Tesla’s highly publicised departure from the sepia-toned pastures of Silicon Valley, has led to the brand finding a new home: the state of Texas. Located in Travis County, near the outskirts of Austin, Texas, the Giga Texas is projected to cost $1.1 billion and create roughly 10000 jobs while benefiting many contractors and suppliers.
According to Tesla, the factory will not only serve as the brand’s all-new headquarters, it will also be the main factory where the upcoming Tesla Semi and Tesla Cybertruck will be produced while the Model 3 and Model Y for its East will also be manufactured, to be supplied to the East Coast customers. Here are a few facts you may not have known
It’s the largest building in the world
In terms of sheer acreage, there’s nothing that comes close to the fifth and latest gigafactory. Tesla has said that at present the structure spans 8 million square feet and sits on a 1700 acre plot. The whole facility runs on renewable energy, and is primarily solar-powered. Tesla plans to complete its construction, and have it production-ready by the end of the year and is reported to have spent more than $1 billion on its new vehicle manufacturing factory.
Apart from car and battery manufacturing, the plant is supposed to have painting, stamping, casting and body shop facilities up-and-running by the end of December. All these departments are awaiting approval from the Architectural Review Board. Tesla has already done a test-run with the production of the Model Y at the factory and aims to hit volume production next year.
Tesla has picked Texas for a reason
The state of Texas has been courting Tesla for a while. Tesla making the state it’s HQ comes as a source of respite after months of Covid-caused economic inactivity. According to Texas Monthly, Tesla stated that 65% of the jobs provided will be middle-skilled and not require college degrees. The company also pledged that at least half the employees would be from the Travis County region. However, it’s very much a mutually beneficial relationship.
Not only does Texas provide Tesla with key natural resources, it also provides abundant land at a much cheaper rate than the state of California. Most importantly, Texas does not collect any state income tax or capital gains tax on individuals. According to a report by Bloomberg, the company is supposed to receive nearly $65 million in tax rebates. In addition to this, Tesla is also going to receive major rebates on property tax.
It’s going to have robots
Elon Musk, a long-time advocate for curtailing AI advancement announced in August, that the then upcoming Giga Texas will begin work on the “Tesla Bot”. Along with all the bots that will be deployed for specialised areas of manufacturing, Spaceman Musk. Tesla listed a job opening for the role of an engineer to work on their Mobile Robotics Team, which is tasked with bringing to life an advanced humanoid that uses the same sensors and AI as Tesla’s self-driving “Autopilot” software. A functioning prototype is supposed to be ready by mid-2022.
All of Musk’s operations are seeking haven in Texas
It’s not just Tesla that’s rooted itself in Texas. Given that the state is also home to NASA, it was a logical step for SpaceX to also buy a patch of land early on (2003). SpaceX needs a steady supply of fuel and America’s oil capital is just the place for it. But Musk’s interest in Texas, where he is in equal parts lauded and reviled, have prompted his other companies like The Boring Company and Neuralink to hire in Texas.
A Tesla subsidiary, Gambit Energy Storage LLC has also built a 100 megawatt battery energy storage project in Angleton, Texas, according to Bloomberg. The facility uses batteries to store renewable energy produced by wind and solar, a move which is likely to prove profitable in the future as Tesla’s energy storage vertical continues to rake in big money. Tesla is reported to have earned $801 million in revenue through its energy generation and storage business alone.
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