Tesla is edging toward choosing Austin, Texas for the location of its Cybertruck Gigafactory, reports suggest. The electric-car company’s Model Y crossover will also be built at the facility.
Tesla boss Elon Musk confirmed on Thursday that his company has an option to buy a 2,100-acre plot of land close to Austin, but said it’s yet to go through with the purchase.
This appears to be because it’s waiting for an Austin school district to consider an incentive deal that could save the company $68 million on its property tax bill over 10 years, according to local news outlet Statesman.
“The proposed agreement — which was made public by the Texas comptroller’s office Thursday — calls for Tesla to build a 4-million- to 5-million-square-foot facility that would eventually employ 5,000 or more workers on a site just off Texas 130 in southeastern Travis County,” Statesman’s report says. The Travis County commissioners are also reported to be mulling a separate incentives agreement with Tesla, though details remain under wraps at this time.
If the deal goes through, documents filed with the Texas comptroller’s office suggest construction on Tesla’s newest Gigafactory could begin toward the end of 2020, with the production of its outlandishly designed pickup expected to begin toward the end of next year.
After Musk revealed in March 2020 that Tesla was scouting for locations in “central USA,” the company entered into discussions with officials in Nashville, Tennessee, though Tesla said later that the talks had ended without agreement. Tulsa, Oklahoma is also hoping to persuade Tesla, but Austin looks at this stage to be the frontrunner.
Musk’s company currently has three Gigafactory facilities in operation — two in the U.S. (Nevada and New York, mainly for batteries) and one in Shanghai, China, for the Model 3 and Model Y. Another is being built near Berlin, Germany. The company’s main vehicle assembly plant is in Fremont, California, and hit the headlines recently over controversially reopening during the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Digital Trends has reached out to Tesla for more information on its Cybertruck Gigafactory plans and we will update this piece when we hear back.
