Last month, Tesla leaked that Tulsa, Oklahoma was still in the running as to where its next factory would be built. It is now clear that Tesla was already set to build in Austin. In the midst of securing over $60 million incentives for this project, Tesla is acquiring $5 million worth of land (outlined in red below) outside of Austin, Texas to builds its new factory.
In an application with the Texas Comptroller’s office it was revealed Tesla is buying the current sand and gravel mining site for a little over $5 million. Tesla describes the project in the application: “Tesla is evaluating the possible development, design, and construction of an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Travis County within the Austin Green property. This site is approximately 2,100 acres and located at the intersections of SH-130 and Harold Green Road. The property is currently a sand and gravel mining site owned and operated by Martin Marietta and Texas construction projects. The Martin Marietta assets will operate for a period of time but will be relocated in the future to allow for buildout of the site. The timeline for the relocation will be determined at a later date.”
The purchase is not completely official until they secure approval from all local authorities such as the local school district. Tesla is asking them to forgive up to $68 million on its property tax bill over a span off 10 years. See the full application below:
Although CEO Elon Musk has referred to Tesla’s new factory as “Cybertruck Gigafactory,” Tesla is aiming to have a Model Y general assembly line running at the Austin factory by the end of the year. The Model Y production is expected to come online before the Cybertruck production.
The relocation process has already begun and Tesla’s construction team is getting ready to build at this location. The construction of the new factory is set to commence in Q3 of 2020 pending all approvals.