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New Tesla Gigafactory site in Austin, Texas
(Video by Steven Joyner/Austonia)
Arrive at the site in Southeast Travis County where Tesla just announced it will be building a $1.1 billion Gigafactory, and you'll find 18-wheeler trucks running in and out of the property. See the area from above, and it's a flurry of activity.
Though the news is less than a week old, CEO Elon Musk said during the call where he confirmed that the company had chosen Austin that work was already underway.
The $1.1 billion factory is expected to be producing the Tesla Cybertruck and Model Y by late 2021.
There are still a few more steps for the company—Tesla will need city and county approvals as further development gets underway—but a city staffer said July 16 that the company is allowed under existing permits to begin reclamation work, which "would be the first step in preparing the site for future development."
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Austin may soon be home to a tech plant that would dwarf the Tesla Gigafactory in both investment and job creation.
Samsung Electronics Co. is considering starting construction on a $10 billion memory chip plant in Austin as soon as this year, Bloomberg reported Friday.
<p>The Samsung plant would compete with industry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which is scheduled to begin construction on a $12 billion semiconductor factory in Phoenix <a href="https://azbigmedia.com/real-estate/taiwan-semiconductor-launches-38b-phoenix-presence-by-signing-major-lease/#:~:text=Taiwan%20Semiconductor%20Manufacturing%20Company%20is,to%20begin%20production%20by%202024." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">later this year</a>. </p>
<p>Samsung is capitalizing on a federal effort to draw advanced manufacturing plants away from Asia, Bloomberg reported. </p>
<p>Samsung Austin Semiconductor LLC purchased roughly 258 acres of land in Northeast Austin in late October, near its existing chip manufacturing plant. Last month, Austin City Council approved a rezoning request from the company to allow for industrial use. </p>
<p>"The proposed (zoning) agreement will reflect almost the same conditions approved on the current Samsung Austin Semiconductor site," Case Manager Sherri Sirwaitis wrote in <a href="https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=351517" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a staff report</a> submitted to the council. </p>
<p>Samsung opened its first Austin plant in 1997 and has since expanded its campus, which now spans roughly 300 acres and employs around 3,000 people, <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2021/01/22/austin-could-be-home-to-10b-samsung-plant.amp.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to the Austin Business Journal</a>. </p>
<p>The company also has a long history of working with state and local governments on tax incentive deals. Between 2009 and 2019, Travis County rebated Samsung $65 million as part of an ongoing incentives agreement. </p>
<p>One of the people close to the matter told Bloomberg that the company may go ahead without such an incentives agreement. But the Travis County Commissioners Court is scheduled to consider whether to accept an application for an economic incentive agreement on Tuesday. A spokesperson would not say which company has filed the application—nicknamed "Project Silicon Silver." </p>
<p>Travis County commissioners last considered an unnamed economic incentives agreement application in May 2020, which was later revealed to have been filed by Tesla. They later approved a multimillion dollar incentives agreement for the electric automaker, which is currently building a $1.1 billion Gigafactory in Southeast Travis County. </p>
<p>In response to criticism regarding the agreement, Travis County commissioners voted unanimously <a href="https://austonia.com/travis-county-incentives" target="_self">last month</a> to amend its economic incentives policy to include community input requirements. As a result, if commissioners vote to accept the Project Silicon Silver application, the court will be required to post draft agreements publicly and host public hearings before taking action on any incentive agreement. </p>
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The California exodus has made headlines for several years now, and even more recently, with thousands of West Coasters seeking tax relief, less-expensive real estate and a simpler lifestyle in Texas' capital city.
However, a California man's scathing review of Austin, which was published in Business Insider on Wednesday, reveals that some are less than satisfied with their move.
<p>In Brett Alder's piece, the sales executive cites "punitive, militaristic" public schools, "oppressive" heat, "reptilian brain terrible" Austin drivers, and a "monoculture" as some of the reasons he moved from California to Texas—and back again.</p><p>The one similarity? Alder said that the only thing Austin had in common with California was the one he tried to escape: a high cost of living.</p><p>Alder wrote his op-ed as a warning to Californians like himself who had visited the city but found it wasn't the right fit.</p><p>"I had visited Austin several times, and everyone was super cool," Alder said. "I attended great restaurants in Austin, I experienced generally good weather, so I guess I was surprised at some the things I didn't expect before going there."</p><p>In the op-ed, Alder admits that he upgraded his home in the move, doubling his square-footage and adding in a pool for relatively the same price. However, cheap housing was unable to mitigate sky-high living expenses. With a $400 monthly power fee, Alder said his family was still "uncomfortable" and that San Diego's water charges were "cheaper during a drought... from two states away." </p><p>Despite coming from sunny California, Adler also complained about Austin's heat and humidity. <br/>And the "annoying cold." While Austin's rain makes the "greenery look great," Adler said it did not make up for allergies, mosquitoes and quickly spoiling food.</p><p>To add to the heat problem, Alder said that lack of public land made the bunch feel even more "cramped and cooped up." Even Enchanted Rock was not immune to the family's distaste and was dubbed "Disenchanted Rock" after a weekend misadventure. Travel was also a no-go, as getting "anywhere interesting" involved flying expenses or several hours of driving.</p><p>Finally, Alder's general dislike of the people and culture was enough to drive the family back to the Golden State. Although he ran into Matthew McConaughey at a flag football game and met some "very wonderful, friendly people," many others he was less impressed with. Alder found service to be worse than anywhere he's been and said even the "car washes were lame." </p><p>Austin's general culture, according to Alder, was a "monoculture that doesn't even seem to be aware of its own blandness." Older, native Texans tended to fit seemingly negative stereotypes, and networking by "attending the local high school football game with the guys" was not his cup of tea. He disapproved of the area's public schooling as well and compared the school his three children attended to a "micro-managed military academy."</p><p>The post was actually posted to a medium blog by Alder in 2016 as a way of venting about his complaints and giving Californians advice. </p><p>Five years later, the piece was tweeted out and later picked up by Business Insider. Texans across the state were up in arms about the op-ed, with Austin Instagram account 365thingsaustin posting, "Headline should read: Culturally Unaware Douchebag Doesn't Make Friends in Austin, Blames City."</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2926f780f9504db161b1d5b2df683bee" id="4f827"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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</div></blockquote></div><p> Alder said in his interview with us, he actually has enjoyed some of the jabs Texans have given him.<br/></p><p>"A lot of people have blown me up in very clever, witty fashion, which I greatly appreciate," Alder said.</p><p>Alder said that the post was more of a reminder to himself to not move back to Austin than a diss at the city itself and that he would have included the positives if he knew it would get traction.</p><p>"I never knew that that piece was going to blow up, that it would be read by people all over Texas," Alder said. "I didn't include the positive stuff, like how our neighbors left us brownies or invited us to New Year's parties, or things like that."</p><p>Although Alder was ultimately against the <a href="https://austonia.com/california-transplants-in-austin" target="_blank">Californian Texodus</a>, many Californians have stated that the opposite is true. </p><p>Austonia spoke with multiple newer Austinites this month that said they really enjoyed their new way of life in Austin. California native Adam Prishtina said he was surprised at the upgrade in the quality of life his family was able to afford upon moving to Austin. </p><p>"We said, 'this is crazy,'" Prishtina said. "We should look at an opportunity to be able to live in a house with a front yard and a back yard, to just have room for the family to grow and expand."</p><p>Technical writer Joyce Fee said that her new Austin neighbors were both friendly and accepting to her and her partner.</p><p>"We were afraid because we are a gay couple and we thought, 'Oh, man, are we going to go to Texas and get murdered or something like that,'" Fee said. "I remember those first few months, the neighbors were so warm and welcoming, (asking), 'How y'all doing.'"</p><p>In hindsight, Adler said he understands some criticisms he is receiving and that ultimately his personal values may have gotten in the way of the best experience.</p><p>"Some of the criticism I'm getting is that, 'How could Californians have not known this about Texas before you moved here,' and that's totally legitimate criticism," Alder said. "I think Texans understand their state and the advantages of their state much better than Californians do. I think that's a big part of it, and I think another part of it was a lack of fit."</p><p>Whether Alder's experience truly was shaped by Austin's flaws or was just not the best match, the Californian's views on Texas' capital city are certainly not universal.</p>
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