Tesla is traveling to Texas to build its largest automotive meeting facility, Chief Executive Elon Musk announced Wednesday, the electric car company’s call for second-quarter results. Musk said paintings are already being made for the 2,100-acre site structure.
The plant will be in Travis County, near Austin, and employ at least 5,000 other people with a minimum wage of $15 an hour, according to the Associated Press. Tesla announced it would invest $1.1 billion.
Musk described the new gigafactory as “an ecological paradise” on the Colorado River, with a hike and a motorcycle and a trail. He said the site will be open to the public.
The company will use the to build its new Cybertruck van, as well as the small Model Y SUV. Musk said the company would produce “many” “long-term” cars. On its website, Tesla says production of Cybertruck will begin late in 2021.
Over the next 10 years, Tesla will get more than $60 million in tax breaks from the federal government and a local district, according to AP.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott welcomed Tesla to the state and said the company “is one of the most exciting and cutting-edge corporations in the world, and we are proud to welcome its team to the state of Texas.”
“Texas has the most productive workforce in the country and we have built an economic environment that allows corporations like Tesla to stay and succeed,” Abbott said in a press release. “Tesla’s Texas Gigafactory will be the most powerful Texas economy in the country and create thousands of jobs for hard-working Texas. I look forward to the super-benefits that Tesla’s investment will bring to central Texas and the state at large.”
Thanks to. Tesla for embracing our state.
The Gigafactory will feature thousands of Texas and will be the cornerstone of next-generation innovation.
It’s a laugh to meet you. Welcome to Texas. pic.twitter.com/PsnfaEUHaz
In a summary of Tesla’s second quarter update released Wednesday, the company said that, despite the closure of the main plant in Fremont, California, for nearly part of the quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic, “companies have shown strong resilience for unprecedented periods.” . “
“We believe that the progress we have made in the first part of this year has set us up for a success in 2020. The production of our existing services continues to improve to meet demand and we are adding more capacity,” the company said. “By the end of this year, we will build 3 plants on 3 continents simultaneously.”
Musk said during the earnings call that the California factory “will continue to grow.” Along with the new factory in Texas, Tesla is also building a factory in Germany, and has a factory in Shanghai.
Musk added that the company was “very impressed” with Tulsa, Oklahoma, which was also one of the top applicants for Tesla’s new plant, and said that “Tulsa will decide strongly because of the long-term extensions That Tesla has along the way.”