Tesla CEO (TSLA) Elon Musk said Wednesday during the company’s earnings call that the next electric car maker Gigafactory would be located near Austin, Texas, settling the debate after officials in Texas and Oklahoma they will embark on a charming offensive to lure the automaker. to their states.
“The location is five minutes from Austin International National Airport and 15 minutes from downtown Austin. It’s about 2,000 acres, ”said Musk during the call. “And we will do, we will do, I think, a factory that will be impressive. It is right on the Colorado River. So we’re actually going to have, we’re going to have a boardwalk where there’s going to be a trail for walking and biking. Basically it will be an ecological paradise: birds in the trees, butterflies, fish in the stream. And it will also be open to the public. “
Initial work on the facility began last weekend, Musk said. The location will be the company’s fourth vehicle assembly factory worldwide and the second in the US, with its Fremont, California, Shanghai Gigafactory factory and the next Berlin factory comprising the other three.
The Tesla Cybertruck, Tesla Semi and Model 3 and Y for the eastern half of North America will be manufactured at the Texas Gigafactory, Musk said. Both the Tesla Cybertruck and the Semi are still under development.
“At the same time, I mean, we will continue to grow in California,” Musk added. California will manufacture the S and X models for global consumption, and the 3 and Y models for the western half of North America, Musk added. The Tesla Roadster “would also make sense in California,” Musk said.
The official announcement of Texas as the location of the next Tesla Gigafactory ended weeks of speculation as local officials in both Texas and Oklahoma sought to bring the automaker to their regions. In early July, Musk visited Tulsa, Oklahoma, to meet with officials and consider it as a location for the next American factory.
“I want to thank Tulsa,” Musk said during the call on Wednesday. “It really impressed me a lot … and we will surely consider Tulsa for Tesla’s future expansion going forward.”
While details of the Tulsa incentive package for Tesla were not released, officials in Travis County, Texas, recently voted to offer Tesla millions of dollars in possible tax breaks, if the electric car maker choose to locate the new facilities nearby.
Travis County commissioners voted this month to offer Tesla a tax exemption worth at least $ 14.7 million over 10 years, provided the company invests at least $ 1.1 billion in the factory. The package was in addition to a Texas property tax reduction approved earlier this month for an estimated value of $ 46 million.
Tesla has already told Texas officials that Gigafactory will eventually employ at least 5,000 people.
A Tesla Model X car is shown at a Tesla electric car dealership in Sydney, Australia on May 31, 2017. REUTERS / Jason Reed
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