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AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Electric vehicle maker Tesla has officially picked the Austin area as the site for its next factory, bringing more than $1 billion in investment and 5,000 direct jobs to the area.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk made the announcement Wednesday afternoon during a company earnings call.
The factory, to be built on 2,100 acres near State Highway 130 and Harold Green Road in southeast Travis County, will produce the company's upcoming Cybertruck electric pickup as well as a second factory for its Model Y sports-utility vehicle.
Between Del Valle ISD and Travis County, roughly $60 million in property tax incentives over 10 years were approved for the project. Travis County's package offers incentives for increased investment above and beyond the $1.1 billion target; Del Valle's incentives won't change much for increased investment.
"In addition to the 5,000 new jobs and $1 billion facility investment, Travis County has been able to take a tract of land that paid $64,000 in tax revenue over 10 years and turn it into a tract that will pay $8 million in tax revenue during the same period," Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe said in a statement. "I am proud of the agreement we have reached. It strikes a balance between incentivizing Tesla, securing significant community benefits, and ensuring protection of workers and the environment."
Tesla says it intends to break ground on the factory later this year. Prep work is already underway at the site, Musk said. Initial operations at the factory could begin as soon as late 2021.
The new factory will be Tesla's biggest so far. Its only other U.S. assembly plant in Fremont, California employs 10,000 workers; the company also has a factory in Reno, Nevada, that employs about 6,500 people where it builds batteries for its vehicles. The company also has a factory in Shanghai and another one under construction in Germany.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott praised the development in a statement. "Tesla is one of the most exciting and innovative companies in the world, and we are proud to welcome its team to the State of Texas," Abbott said. "Texas has the best workforce in the nation and we’ve built an economic environment that allows companies like Tesla to innovate and succeed. Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas will keep the Texas economy the strongest in the nation and will create thousands of jobs for hard-working Texans. I look forward to the tremendous benefits that Tesla's investment will bring to Central Texas and to the entire state."