Travis County in Texas has approved Tesla’s tax incentive package for an upcoming factory in Austin, where Tesla plans to build the Cybertruck and Model Y.
In May, Electrek exclusively reported that Tesla’s next factory is going to be in Austin. It plans to move fast with hopes to have a general assembly line for Model Y in Texas by the end of the year, and it is already making preparations at a site near Austin.
Last month, we reported on Tesla securing a 2,100-acre piece of land just outside Austin to build the factory. However, before the deal is made official, Tesla needs to receive approval from a few levels of local government for an incentive package that includes significant tax breaks for the $1 billion electric vehicle factory.
Last week, Tesla secured an important approval for the incentive package from the local school district, which would receive a large chunk of the taxes Tesla would have to pay for the factory’s site.
At the time, we reported that we expected the local county, Travis County, to approve the package this week. It was on the agenda today, and the majority of county commissioners approved the tax breaks for Tesla — bringing the total incentive package worth to at least $65 million.
The approval now allows Tesla to exercise its option to buy the piece of land in Austin and move on with the project. The project, which is codenamed Colorado River Project, has also been called the Tesla Cybertruck Gigafactory since it is expected to be the manufacturing site for Tesla’s upcoming electric pickup truck.
However, Electrek learned that Tesla plans to quickly build a Model Y assembly line at the site of the factory.
CEO Elon Musk previously said that the Model Y production at a new factory in the US would be to supply the East Coast with electric SUVs.
Electrek’s Take
Now, with the county’s approval, I would expect Tesla to make official what might end up being known at “Tesla Terafactory Austin” in the coming days.
I’m hearing that things could be moving super fast on this project, and considering how fast things have moved for Tesla in Berlin and Shanghai, I’m very interested to see how Tesla does in Texas.
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