Almost two years after Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced Austin, Texas, as the site for a new gigafactory, the facility is all set for a grand opening event on Thursday, April 7.
The electric-car maker has started sending out invitations to the bash, dubbed “Cyber Rodeo,” while Musk himself tweeted a graphic announcing it.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 26, 2022
Tesla has numerous factories producing batteries and other components for its line of electric vehicles, but the Austin plant will be only the company’s second U.S. auto factory and its fourth globally.
The facility will initially focus on the production of Tesla’s Model Y SUV before becoming the first production facility for its futuristic-looking Cybertruck.
Indeed, the title of April’s gathering suggests Tesla could unveil the latest version of the pickup truck, which is expected to hit the road in 2023 following a number of production delays.
Tesla opened its first auto factory in Fremont, California, in 2010, and continues to produce Tesla’s full range of electric vehicles. The second factory opened in Shanghai, China, in 2019, and builds Model 3 and Model Y automobiles for the growing Asian market. On Monday, Tesla’s Shanghai facility was forced to close for at least a day due to a new citywide lockdown prompted by another spike in COVID cases there.
Just last week, Tesla opened its first European car production facility, building the Model Y at a site near Berlin, Germany.
As Musk attended a similar celebratory event at Tesla’s Giga Berlin in October — that one dubbed “Country Fair” — the billionaire entrepreneur who has helped steer the automaker to success will almost certainly be in attendance at next month’s Texas party.
Whether he will treat fans with another impromptu dance routine during the event remains to be seen.
