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Tesla's New Terafactory Is Coming To Austin, Texas (electrek.co) 94

Posted by BeauHD from the get-ready dept.
paulbsch shares a report from Electrek: A source familiar with the matter told Electrek that Tesla has chosen Austin, Texas for its next factory and it's going to happen quickly. According to a reliable source familiar with the matter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is set on bringing the next Tesla Gigafactory, or now Terafactory, to Austin, Texas, or at least close to the city. The people familiar with the project said that Musk has tasked the engineering team working at Gigafactory Nevada to start the process for the new factory, which is expected to make the Tesla Cybertruck electric pickup truck and the Model Y. Tesla's CEO also reportedly wants to move extremely fast.

We are told that the decision for the site is not set in stone since Tesla was apparently given a few options in the greater Austin area, but Musk is said to want to start construction extremely soon and aims to have Model Y vehicles coming out of the plant by the end of the year. It would be an even more aggressive timeline than Gigafactory Shanghai. However, we are told that Tesla would aim to only have a general assembly line ready on that timeline and it would keep building the factory around the first phase in order to increase production capacity of different parts next year. By late next year, the new Texas factory would be producing Tesla's new Cybertruck electric pickup.
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Tesla's New Terafactory Is Coming To Austin, Texas More

Tesla's New Terafactory Is Coming To Austin, Texas

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  • Are they planning to make one?

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by radoni ( 267396 )

      Are they planning to make one[ed.: minivan]?

      That's kind of what the Model X/Y are in a more aerodynamic package. What do you need a minivan for that is not possible with a vehicle that seats 7 and can tow a trailer?

    • Probably not soon.
      Minivans are so popular anymore.
      If the Cybertruck does well, they may do a full sized van.
      They may also do some low end cheap cars.

      The model Y will have a 7 seat option. The Cybertruck can seat 6.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        Remember back when the plan was to make affordable EVs? Seems to have been abandoned now, the Model 3 is actually getting more expensive not less.

        • Most people don’t order the Cheap version.
          The Cybertruck changed its production schedule to release the 2 and 3 motor version first. Then the 1 motor later.

          Why? Most people opted for the more expensive and better feature version.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

            Exactly, it's not fulfilling the original goal of making EVs affordable mass market cars. The sales numbers are still pretty small in the scheme of things.

            Tesla seem to have given up on that and left the affordable market to other manufacturers.

    • The Model X is a minivan.

      They call it an SUV because that sounds more awesome.

      No way to carry anything on the top. No off-road capability. It is a minivan.

  • That's one way to change TX law (Score:5, Funny)

    by BLToday ( 1777712 ) on Friday May 15, 2020 @06:52PM (#60065598)

    Texas: You can't sell a car directly to the consumer, it's the law.
    Tesla: What if we built a factory in the state?
    Texas: We would have just taken a briefcase full of cash, but a factory will suffice.

    • Building Trucks in Texas? Damn, that's what I call a win-win. I will not have to drive as far to get my next truck.
      • You are lucky, you might make it home before needing a recharge.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by DeBaas ( 470886 )

        Building Trucks in Texas? Damn, that's what I call a win-win. I will not have to drive as far to get my next truck.

        A whole new meaning to the term range anxiety

        • I guess y'all have not heard of Solar Panels. It's like a Pocket Gas Station(tm). I just pull over and get some fishing in, then I go home with dinner and a full battery. Yah, that is doable.

    • You missed the fact that Musk has had enough of CA and its retarded government

      • Re: That's one way to change TX law (Score:5, Funny)

        by NFN_NLN ( 633283 ) on Friday May 15, 2020 @07:08PM (#60065682)

        That seems irrational for Elon, the local government seemed very open to working with him on any issues:

        https://twitter.com/LorenaSGon... [twitter.com]

      • He was able to start his company there and somehow used state resources to allow it to succeed.

        However it may be difficult to get a new Gigafactory in CA to replace the old one there.

        • He was able to start his company there and somehow used state resources to allow it to succeed.

          Huh? I thought he bought out/pushed out the guys who actually started the company.

          • Re: That's one way to change TX law (Score:4, Informative)

            by c6gunner ( 950153 ) on Friday May 15, 2020 @08:24PM (#60065918) Homepage

            If by "bought out/pushed out" you mean "provided 85% of their operating capital and spearheaded the design of the first vehicle", then yes, you're 100% correct.

            • Provided capital vs bought out is a distinction without a difference. Musk did in fact push out Eberhard. Fired him while he was on a trip without even consulting the board.

              • "Provided most of the money and did most of the work" is significantly different than "bought out". The latter implies that the original founders had an actual product, and Elon showed up with a wad of cash, threw it at them, and ran off with the company. When, in fact, the founders had nothing more than a rough idea, Elon showed up with the money to make it happen, fought with them to change the design, produced a product which actually sold well, and then got rid of the original dipshits when it became

                • Gee, why did Elon involve those dipshits in the first place? He should've just started his own company from scratch.

                  ...and then got rid of the original dipshits when it became obvious that they had nothing to contribute.

                  IOW, he pushed them out? At least we agree on that much. :-)

                  • Re: That's one way to change TX law (Score:5, Interesting)

                    by c6gunner ( 950153 ) on Friday May 15, 2020 @11:50PM (#60066314) Homepage

                    Gee, why did Elon involve those dipshits in the first place? He should've just started his own company from scratch.

                    Well, that's obviously a question nobody except Musk can answer with complete certainty. But judging by what I know of his personality, it was probably 90% because he wanted to own the "Tesla" brand name, and 10% because he thought the original founders had some interesting ideas. The fact that he originally appointed Eberhard as CEO suggests that, at least initially, he had some faith in Eberhard's abilities. Unfortunately that didn't last long. Obviously they had some fairly major disagreements, as Eberhard himself is on record as stating that Musk had a massive role in dictating the final design of their eventual product.

                    IOW, he pushed them out? At least we agree on that much. :-)

                    I could agree in theory, but we really don't know. Eberhard was asked to step down at some point, and theres no public info on how or why that happened. It could have been Musk, or it could have been a joint decision by the various shareholders. By the time Eberhard left the company, Musk had managed to attract something like $100 million more in investments on top of his original $7.5 million contribution.

                    What we do know is that in the 12 years since Eberhard left Tesla, he has been bouncing around from company to company with no significant accomplishments to his name. Whereas Musk has managed to turn Tesla into a major battery and EV maker, as well as fostering a revolution in the space industry via SpaceX. So, sure, let's say I agree that Elon was the only person responsible for pushing Eberhard out. Who gives a flying fuck?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by jythie ( 914043 )
        Yeah, like many libertarians, he wants all the wealth and resources of california for selling his goods, but the labor laws and wages of somewhere far cheaper for making them. Standard capitalist 'I hope other companies treat their workers better than mine' NIMBY

    • I only hope this is true. Both parties involved in this spend so much time with heads up their asses that I can see him putting a factory here, AND not changing laws.

      • I wonder if there's a weird loophole where if the consumer assembles the car themselves then they can buy directly from the manufacturer. So you order a Tesla, it's 99.99% assembled and then you go to the factory to put on the badge yourself.

    • I expect that may be part of it. However Tesla in general has been trying to market itself as really good cars/trucks vs Hippy Greeny pushing environment in your face.

      Having to create a truck in truck country. Would do a lot to push the idea that the Cybertruck is a Testosterone fueled truck for a mans man. Not some LiBeRaL hippy goofy “truck”.

      Also Tesla is also seems to want to put Gigafactories spread out across the country. I expect to hedge bets from any state (California/Michigan) bein

  • Race to the bottom (Score:3, Insightful)

    by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Friday May 15, 2020 @06:54PM (#60065614)
    Marx predicted this but all anyone can remember about him is that a couple of tin pot dictators borrowed his books for rhetoric.

    Anyone else here in the high risk category for the disease? Boy, it sure would be nice if we weren't risking increased spread. But I'm sure the stock bonus will be worth it.
    • Yep, California is running as quickly as it can to the bottom as it continues to destroy what few economies are left - and drain blood from anyone left. Governor Newsom is talking about raising more taxes [deadline.com], even though we've been paying State workers full-wages just to sit at home and do nothing, and are illegally paying illegal aliens [californiaglobe.com] - something even the CA Supreme Court said the Governor does not have the power to do.
      • But Please at least try harder. And if you can't do that, might I suggest trolling the weaboos on 4chan instead? They get way more upset than us libtards and all you've gotta do is tell them Rei isn't best girl and watch 'em frenzy like sharks in a blood pool.
        • You complain about tin-pot dictators, and you ignore the one running California. There is a race to the bottom, it's called pandering and class warfare - you you Leftists seem to have mastered it. Woe is you - because you aren't as good as those around you. Guess what - NOT everyone has equal ability. If that offends you - tough. Facts are facts.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by rossz ( 67331 )

          Everyone knows that Raphtalia is best girl.

    • Marx was an idiot. We should race to the bottom even faster considering that the real median income [stlouisfed.org] and the average standard of living has been increasing all the while this supposed race to the bottom has been going on.

      Was anyone complaining about a race to the bottom in the agricultural sector that allows us to feed the world's population? How about when all of the technology companies made it possible for just about anyone [usc.edu] to have access to a computer. What about the race to the bottom among pharmaceu

      • More succinctly, Marx was a failed 19th century Political Economist.

        Its sort of shocking that anybody champions his 'thoughts' today.

      • people's quality of life has been going up for 2 reasons:

        1. FDR broke ranks in the early 1900s and pushed through a metric assload of reforms.

        2. Science! Specifically modern farming techniques. Did you know that the reason we have so much food isn't just irrigation, but that we've been using oil byproducts to my super effective fertilizers so we don't have to leave land fallow for a season or two? Oh, and then there's all the advancements in transportation, refrigeration, medicine, energy use, Autom

    • Austin TX is one of the nicest cities in the USA to live in. It's far from the bottom.

      • that's pretty bottom. Musk is doing this because the public health officials wouldn't let him reopen his plant because it's dangerous. Meanwhile Musk is forcing the reopening because there's a multi-million dollar stock bonus on the line (several hundred million) and that's more important than his workers lives. Or the lives of people in the community that might catch it from one of those workers.

    • I'm also high risk
      . I will die with or without COVID. So will you, cute babies and ancient crones.

      Humans worry about new, exotic death and ignore what's far more likely to kill us. We see no surge in exercise or healthy diets and most Americans remain obese slobs. Why do we not freak out over likely death but COVID is terrifying?

      Impoverishing the masses to buy a few years for the least productive members (in general) of society is absurd. We trade lives for LESSER outcomes all the time in war and we conscri

      • Live each day as if it were your last.....

        Which is about the stupidest thing anyone has ever said.

        If tomorrow was going to be my last day, I'd be living it up with no concern for the day after.

        But that only works if you don't actually have a day after. And a next day. And a next year. And a next decade.

        Sure, don't put off things that you want to do for too long, or you might never do them. But if I say "fuck COVID-19", max out my credit card, and go on a month-long bender in France, that's not going to bode well for my job, my house, my relationshi

        • Re:Relinquish fear of the inevitable. (Score:5, Funny)

          by Bender0x7D1 ( 536254 ) on Saturday May 16, 2020 @09:30AM (#60067046)

          Which is about the stupidest thing anyone has ever said. If tomorrow was going to be my last day, I'd be living it up with no concern for the day after.

          This is something I would expect from a teenager who is only concerned with themselves.

          One day left is just enough time to: tell people you love them and appreciate them, spend some time with your kids and give them any last-minute advice you have, do one thing for your community to make it a better place to live, take a moment to look around and understand how cool the world is, and perhaps most importantly, update the damn documentation for your code.

          • You've very much got it wrong.

            One day isn't enough to put your finances in order. It's not long enough to properly say goodbye. Either you've lived your life in such a way that people know you love them, or you didn't. You either raised your kids right or you didn't. One day isn't going to make a difference for any of this. Especially if you try to do all of it in one day.

            Look around at how cool the world is? I've done that for years. And now I've got one day to figure out how much cool shit I can do, since

      • The economic impact of the pandemic is a far greater disaster than the deaths which are largely a sentimental loss which will die when the grieving die in their inevitable turn. Afterwards it will pass into history along with the 1918 influenza pandemic.

        Live each day as if it were your last, give your life meaning, and when death comes you won't meet it in craven fear.

        Do you know the dollar figure the USA places a human life? The actuarial figure, I mean. I do. It's just shy of $10m [wikipedia.org]. That's the economic cost, tallied up by soul-less bean counters, so it's pretty conservative.

        So let's do these sums. If we let the virus run rampant in the USA, the experts estimated about 2 million deaths.

        The economic cost of those 2m deaths would therefore be USD$20,000,000,000,000, or about $20t.

        Spending $2t to save $20t sounds like an *excellent* economic plan, as well as an excelle

  • CA: Fuck Elon Musk, Musk: I'm the one who's going to be doing the fucking in this case.

    But seriously, I can't think of a better place to build pickup trucks than Texas.

    • It's ironic that Musk is building in the one city in Texas that's still on a lockdown, and where his factory would still be closed if it was located there.

      • It's ironic that Musk is building in the one city in Texas that's still on a lockdown, and where his factory would still be closed if it was located there.

        You don't know what you're talking about. Barbershops, hair salons, gyms, and lots of other businesses opened in Austin a week ago.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Rei ( 128717 )

        I'd be surprised if it was actually in Travis county.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Megane ( 129182 )
          Williamson county is definitely not so far left. And there's five other counties that border Travis too. Myself, I've been dealing with the retardation in Bexar county by driving just over the Comal county line for my weekly shopping.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Rei ( 128717 )

            Torque News is now saying that they have reason to believe that it's a plot of land [google.com] on the south side of US 79 between Hutto and Taylor, in Williamson County.

            Wouldn't surprise me. Out of Travis County. Far enough away to get a large contiguous plot at cheap prices, but close enough for people to commute. Also, right next to a big complex of car dealerships, which would be rather amusing. ;)

    • It wasn’t the State that said that. It was a random lawmaker.

  • Isn't this old news? I seem to remember when Tesla introduced the Cybertruck that Musk said it would be built in a new factory in Texas.

    Texas is kind of a central location to where most truck sales are.

  • When APPL,GOOG,FB ramped up operations in a big way in Austin last year, it was a matter of time that TSLA too would setup in Austin. TSLA derives its high P/E multiples from being seen as a tech firm rather than a traditional car firm. It has to be where the next Silicon Valley is and right now that is Austin.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by balbeir ( 557475 )
      But the side effect of all this tech influx is turning Texas blue, so how long before Musk will have to start shitting on Texas and move to Alabama

      • You think it will turn Texas blue, or will it turn the bluboys who migrate there red? People grow up when they get older and see more of the world than the interior of an overpriced apartment on the coast.

      • But the side effect of all this tech influx is turning Texas blue

        That's a myth. Texas turning blue (less red, really) has nothing to do with "tech" moving here.

  • ... for Texas allowing direct sales of Tesla to Texans. They specifically changed the law to penalize Tesla and threw so many hurdles its way when it was very vulnerable.

    All those states and communities that supported and encouraged Tesla are not getting a chance for these factory jobs and the squeaky wheel gets oiled. What message it sends to communities? You can be as nasty as you want to be, they will come licking your boots...

    • Re:He should at least hold out for .... (Score:5, Informative)

      by psergiu ( 67614 ) on Friday May 15, 2020 @09:48PM (#60066078)

      Oh, yeah. Texas Tesla owner here.
      - They only way you could get a Tesla here in TX is to buy-it on-line or over the phone. The employees at the show rooms are not allowed to even tell you the price - they can only sit you down in front of a iMac with a web browser so you can see all the details on their website;
      - All EVs sold in Texas are eligible to a $2500 state bonus. Except Teslas;
      - In order to go around the "New cars in TX can only be sold by dealerships" rule, you're actually buying your new Tesla as a used car with 50 miles on the odometer from their California office. Mine had just a few miles on the odometer;
      - Because of that, you're paying more Sales Tax to the state than you would have paid for any other new car;
      - Also, because it's an "used car" you will not get the 2-year State Emission Inspection waiver all the other new cars get in Texas;
      - Also for some reason, it takes Texas DMV 2+ months to issue the car registration, title and number plates - causing the loaning banks to freak out. All other cars get their plates in ~2 weeks.

      From my experience - it was actually simpler to buy a Tesla than any other EV in Texas as all the dealers are promoting ICE vehicles to the point that they don't have any BEV in stock or available for test driving and if they have them in the showroom, the batteries are completely depleted.

  • X Æ A-12 (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Every Tesla story gives me an opportunity to remind everyone that Elon Musk is not the original founder of Tesla Motors. He bought the company from the original founders, along with the title “founder.” The actual founders are contractually forbidden from referring to themselves as founders.

    • Martin and Marc pretty much did jack and shit, respectively, other than file the paperwork to legally establish the company. Elon came in later and provided the early cash, vision and drive that actually made the company successful. Tesla Motors, Inc would otherwise likely have continued operating out of a rented industrial unit for a few years before going bankrupt or being bought out by someone else... this is apparent from Martin Eberhard's career post-Tesla, which by any measure has been a cavalcade of

    • Re:X Æ A-12 (Score:4, Informative)

      by Rei ( 128717 ) on Friday May 15, 2020 @08:53PM (#60065982) Homepage

      Which is of course not true.

      Tarpenning and Eberhard were the first two employees, followed by Wright, followed by Musk, followed by Straubel. All five are classified as founders. Musk was introduced to Tarpenning and Eberhard when he was working to form his own EV company by the team at AC Propulsion, which made the tzero (Tarpenning and Eberhard's plan was to use the powertrain of the tzero in a Lotus Elise); they suggested that he join efforts with them. The company was not "bought" from anyone. Musk led the Series A fundraising, but all founders had sizable stakes in the company. Eberhard remained the CEO until the board kicked him out for a huge fiasco with the Roadster development, including lying to the board about it. Musk resisted for quite some time taking a business role, preferring to stay focused on design. Tarpenning took over the CEO role from Eberhard. After Tarpenning left, again Musk turned down the CEO role, and Marks was brought in, then Drori. Musk finally took the CEO role in late 2008, over four and a half years after he joined the company.

  • God give us one more boom. We promise not to piss it away this time.

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