Giga Texas

Tesla & Texas To Mutually Benefit With New $1B Gigafactory in Austin

Featured image: Casgains Academy - Stock Market Investing / YouTube

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott joins Squawk Box to discuss how Tesla's $1 billion Austin plant could impact the state's economy.

On July 23, Governor Greg Abbott announced via Twitter that Elon Musk had decided to build Tesla's next American plant in Texas. He thanked Tesla and Musk for choosing the Lone Star State to build the new Gigafactory.

On Squawk Box, Abbott said he met with Tesla's CEO several times. During these meetings, they discussed the project and Musk's vision of how he sees the development of Tesla and Texas. Abbott noted that tax breaks were helpful in the company's choice of state, but they were not the deciding factor. The real incentive was freedom and the possibility of what Tesla could achieve in Texas.

“He wanted to get into a state where he had more freedom where he could expand the way he wanted to expand. He has a remarkable vision that goes far beyond just this one announcement,” Abbott said.

Located on the Colorado River, 5 minutes from the International Airport, and 15 minutes from downtown Austin, the factory will be an “ecological paradise”, according to Musk.

“We’re going to make it a factory that is going to be stunning; it's right on the Colorado River. So we’re actually going to have to have a boardwalk over you, hiking, biking trail, ” he said, adding they will be “open to the public as well.”

Abbott said Tesla is also attracted to the talent in the area. He called Musk a “transformative thinker” and painted Texas as an optimal place to usher in that transformation.

“He knows he has a better ability to do that in Texas with the freedoms that we offer him, with the low costs that we offer him, than he does in other places, like California,” Abbott said.

Tesla estimates Giga Texas will create at least 5,000 jobs. The factory is supposed to attract thousands of new non-Tesla jobs due to secondary effects. There are many high-paying jobs in Austin right now, but “where we’re really deficient is in those middle-skill jobs,” said Mayor Steve Adler.

Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter

About the Author

Eva Fox

Eva Fox

Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.

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