Tesla picks Texas site for second US vehicle assembly plant

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By TOM KRISHER

Electric car maker Tesla Inc. has picked the Austin, Texas, area as the site for its largest auto assembly plant employing at least 5,000 workers.

The new factory will build Tesla’s upcoming Cybertruck pickup and will be a second U.S. manufacturing site for the Model Y small SUV, largely for distribution to the East Coast.

Tesla will build on a 2,100-acre (85-hectacre) site in Travis County near Austin and will get more than $60 million in tax breaks from the county and a local school district over the next decade. Work on the plant, which will be over 4 million square feet, is already underway, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said.

He did not put a number on how many vehicles the facility would produce. “Long term, a lot,” Musk said.



FILE - In this Monday, May 11, 2020 file photo, a man wearing a mask walks through the Tesla plant parking lot in Fremont, Calif. On Wednesday, July 22, 2020, the electric car maker announced it has picked the Austin, Texas, area as the site for its largest auto assembly plant employing at least 5,000 workers. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)


Read more: https://apnews.com/5bb9661f02ecf033e4e0dcaf456ed778

[Laelth]

1. Interesting.

If you gotta live in Texas, Austin is the most liberal city we have. Tesla could have done worse.

-Laelth

[TexasTowelie]

3. Tesla received $60 million in tax abatements. nt

While it might provide some jobs to a segment of the population that needs it, now that Austin has about a million residents I suspect some people were hoping that they wouldn't pack more people in.

I remember living in Austin when the population was slightly over 400,000. Keep Austin Weird!

[Laelth]

7. The traffic is abysmal. Air pollution is significant.

Water quality is marginal. Property values are too high for me to afford rent. Still, if I could pull it off, I’d rather be in Austin than where I am now.



-Laelth

[Sucha NastyWoman]

20. Agree completely. Had to move from Austin to Houston in 2018 and I can't wait to get back.

Either Austin or the Hill Country. Sold my house there for 50% more than I bought it for six years earlier. But when we go back we’ll get 50% less house for the maximum I can afford to pay.

Still, I’d rather live in a dump there than this big old TajMahal I’m living in here in the swamps of Houston. I even miss the frequent droughts, the rattlesnakes and scorpions.

[yaesu]

13. people in the community will have their local taxes jacked up bigly to make up for it

these wealthy fascists don't care that they will be using up the resources in the area yet not paying a dime for it. Hope those overpriced golf carts are worth it

[ashredux]

4. 👍👍

[ashredux]

5. Austin is very Blue

[tinrobot]

9. Austin is also home to a lot of tech companies

Bigger pool of tech talent.

Tesla likes to see themselves as more of a Silicon Valley company than a Detroit company.

[TexasTowelie]

2. The local news report from the Austin American-Statesman.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/107847825

[Thomas Hurt]

6. Not a fan of the Cybertruck, cool idea to make an electric truck.

The look is just not appealing to me.

https://electrek.co/2020/06/22/tesla-cybertruck-pre-orders-rose-over-650000-report/

[47of74]

10. Yeah I have a Bolt now

If Tesla had made their electric pickup look like a pickup I might've been interested. Since it looks more like a military assault vehicle not so much.

I put a deposit down on the cybertruck but am thinking of seeing if I can have that switched to a different vehicle or refunded. I had hoped whatever that was that showed up on stage was merely a concept and the final vehicle would look more like a traditional pickup but that doesn't appear to be the case.

[Cryptoad]

8. Asshole wants to get down ther ein Dumbfucistan

where he wont have to pay a living wage,,,,,

[BigmanPigman]

11. Bingo!

[CentralMass]

17. Or worry about a silly little oandemic.

[BlueIdaho]

12. Because the car industry is booming right now?

Musk is going to bankrupt Tesla.

[Mersky]

14. It's a good fit

Lots of Teslas being driven in the state and Austin does have a bustling tech hub. Makes sense to me.

[msongs]

15. coulda saved lots of money building it in Amarillo nt

[CentralMass]

16. It figures.

[0nirevets]

18. My beloved Austin, just remember, you get what you pay for.

[Zorro]

19. It is a brilliant strategic move by Tesla

Tesla production in the the capital of Texas, home of big oil bought-and-paid for legislators, will certainly stir up controversy.

Texas also prohibits car manufacturers from selling their vehicles at corporate owned operations, which is Tesla's sales model. It will increase pressure on Texas car dealerships to lighten up on their opposition to Tesla.

[dalton99a]

21. Because of tremendous demand for this