Technology
austonia newsletter
Get connected with our daily update
Most viewed
(Capital Metro)
Rendering, Project Connect station
The Austin City Council on Friday unanimously approved a measure to add to the November ballot the massive $7.1B "Project Connect," a 20-year overhaul of Austin's transit system that would include a new light rail and "rapid bus" lines.
The council plans to add it to the ballot in a formal order next week, members said. Then it's up to voters to decide whether to approve it.
<p>Because of technical difficulties, Friday's virtual meeting, in which the council also created a governing body for implementing the plan should it pass, was not streamed online. But council members shared their news on Twitter in the wake of their vote.</p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c822f3ff32285fa04c656dc173e18661" id="6b910"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1291865801176354817"><div style="margin:1em 0">Project Connect is about building back better after COVID, its about transportation that works for everybody, its a… https://t.co/ap6C8V0jNj</div> — Ann Kitchen (@Ann Kitchen)<a href="https://twitter.com/D5Kitchen/statuses/1291865801176354817">1596839783.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Council members chose a scaled-down version of the plan due to economic uncertainty brought about <a href="https://austonia.com/transportation/project-connect-austin-coronavirus" target="_self">by the pandemic</a>. An earlier version, approved by council in June, would have cost $10 billion.<br/></p><p>Capital Metro <a href="https://austonia.com/transportation/project-connect-austin" target="_self">proposed $3 billion in cuts last month</a>, including the elimination of a light-rail line running from Austin Community College Highland to downtown and the shortening of another, which would span North Lamar and South Congress.</p><p>If approved by voters, the $7 billion plan will increase the city property tax rate by 8.5 cents. For the median homeowner, this means their annual property tax bill will be about $276 higher.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7c6efe35152108c346f393acf8db696e" id="65ae7"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1291865503032659968"><div style="margin:1em 0">883 days ago I started at @capmetroatx with the board’s direction to develop a data driven community supported tran… https://t.co/Lp54EWrH1U</div> — Randy Clarke 😷 (@Randy Clarke 😷)<a href="https://twitter.com/CapMetroCEO/statuses/1291865503032659968">1596839712.0</a></blockquote></div><p>In addition to taxpayer dollars, CapMetro will still need to seek an additional $3.15 billion in funding - 45% of the total budget - from the federal government.<br/></p><p>Along with deciding which version they will add to November's ballot next week, council members and the CapMetro board also voted to create a governing body called the Austin Transportation Partnership that will oversee the implementation of the plan. </p><p>The ATP board will include representatives from City Council and the Capital Metro board as well as three community experts.</p><p><em>This story has been updated; Project Connect will be funded through a tax rate election, not a bond. </em><br/></p>
From Your Site Articles
- CapMetro cuts $3 billion from Project Connect due to COVID ... ›
- Paying for Project Connect—and only Project Connect - austonia ›
- CapMetro cuts $3 billion from Project Connect due to COVID ... ›
- Austin City Council discusses next steps on Project Connect bond ... ›
- CapMetro cuts $3 billion from Project Connect due to COVID ... ›
- project-connect - austonia ›
- Transportation - austonia ›
- Austin faces rocky road in hiking taxes for Project Connect - austonia ›
- City Council approves lowering speed limits across Austin - austonia ›
- Austin City Council, CapMetro approve Project Connect - austonia ›
- This was the year for Project Connect in Austin. Then came ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less
The Austin Independent School Board delayed the school year to Sept. 8 in an early-Friday vote, giving teachers three more weeks to prepare for online learning and the community more time to see a drop in COVID-19 cases before students, faculty and staff return to the classroom.
<p>The first four weeks of classes will be virtual-only for most of the district's 80,100 students, with exceptions made for students who don't have access to the required technology, but the board also voted to ask the Texas Education Agency to allow up to four more - potentially delaying full access to the district's 130 campuses until early November.</p><p>If granted, the board stipulated, the waiver "would serve as a period where students who selected on-campus instruction may return to on-campus learning in phased-in smaller groups." Families were asked to choose between in-person or online, with the option for virtual-only students to switch to on-campus classes after the first grading period.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/austinisd/videos/3284478401646954" target="_blank">Thursday night virtual meeting</a> lasted more than six hours and drew hundreds of community members, teachers and staff who called in to comment, with the vote happening past 3 a.m. on Friday. </p><p>On its agenda documents for the meeting, the district cited "local health conditions," the need for teacher training and the fact that COVID-19 disproportionately affects the Hispanic community, represented by a third of teachers and more than half of the district's students.</p><p>The district said staff and faculty will see no reduction in pay and in most cases, no change in pay schedule. The last day of the school year was pushed to June 3, 2021.</p><p>On Monday, Education Austin, the union representing 3,000 AISD employees, <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-public-schools" target="_self">asked the district to consider pushing back the official first day of school,</a> which Gov. Greg Abbott said was within the rights of local districts, not health officials.</p><p>AISD posted <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/austinisd/Board.nsf/files/BS63YY0936A1/%24file/Attachment%203%20SY-2020-21-Attendance-and-Enrollment.pdf" target="_blank">this document</a> with frequently asked questions, updated July 30, about attendance, enrollment, class size and more during the upcoming school year.</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Austin public school teachers, staff union pushes for delay - austonia ›
- AISD union wants schools to delay first day to avoid virus, help ... ›
- Austin teens face unique challenges in high school decision - austonia ›
- Austin ISD considers delaying first day of school - austonia ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less
(Matthew/Adobe)
The Chinese government may have tried to steal research related to COVID-19 from the University of Texas at Austin, the FBI told the school earlier this month.
<p data-children-count="0">The news came from an email sent Monday to faculty, staff and post-doctoral students from the school's interim vice president and provost, Daniel Jaffe, who wrote that the investigation was sparked by the <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/22/houston-chinese-consulate-close-donald-trump/#:~:text=The%20Trump%20administration%20decided%20to,spokeswoman%20Morgan%20Ortagus%20said%20Wednesday." target="_blank">July 24 closure of the Chinese Consulate </a>in Houston. </p><p data-children-count="0">He warned that the FBI may be reaching out to them about relations with the consulate and "efforts by the Chinese government to illegally procure research from American universities."</p><p data-children-count="0">"We do not know whom the FBI intends to contact or what they plan to discuss, nor have we shared anyone's information or details about ongoing research with FBI agents," Jaffe said in the email. "It's not unusual for federal law enforcement officers to ask to speak with researchers if deemed necessary to support criminal or national security investigations."</p><p data-children-count="0">Details of Jaffe's email to members of the university were <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/education/campus-chronicles/article/FBI-Chinese-spy-COVID-university-texas-austin-15446341.php" target="_blank">first reported by the Houston Chronicle</a>. UT is not the only university affected.</p><p data-children-count="0">The <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/22/houston-chinese-consulate-close-donald-trump/#:~:text=The%20Trump%20administration%20decided%20to,spokeswoman%20Morgan%20Ortagus%20said%20Wednesday." target="_blank">closure of the consulate in Houston</a> served as the latest development in the conflict between the Trump administration and China, which spans issues ranging from trade, espionage, the expansion of 5G phone service around the globe and, now, the country's role in the coronavirus pandemic.</p><p data-children-count="0">The administration<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/22/houston-chinese-consulate-close-donald-trump/#:~:text=The%20Trump%20administration%20decided%20to,spokeswoman%20Morgan%20Ortagus%20said%20Wednesday." target="_blank"> cited the need to protect intellectual property </a>and American private information in closing the consulate—the same issues the FBI is now investigating at U.S. higher education institutions. </p><p data-children-count="0">The day before the closure of the consulate, the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-chinese-hackers-working-ministry-state-security-charged-global-computer-intrusion" target="_blank">Justice Department revealed indictments</a> for two Chinese hackers accused of stealing information from "computer systems of hundreds of victim companies, governments, non-governmental organizations, and individual dissidents, clergy, and democratic and human rights activists in the United States and abroad, including Hong Kong and China."</p><p data-children-count="0">A press release announcing the indictment said the hackers stole for their own personal gain, in some cases, and in others acted on behalf of the Chinese government. The terabytes of data ranged from tech manufacturing to pharmaceuticals to gaming software.</p>
<h5>Want to read more stories like this one? Start every day with a quick look at what's happening in Austin. Sign up for Austonia.com's free daily morning email.</h5>
<!-- Begin Mailchimp Signup Form -->
<link href="//cdn-images.mailchimp.com/embedcode/classic-10_7.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<style type="text/css">
#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; }<br />
/* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.<br />
We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */<br />
</style>
<div id="mc_embed_signup">
<form action="https://austonia.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=4d0e7a7bb7e797f1d00b45a6b&id=ad2a1dda78" method="post" id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" class="validate" target="_blank" novalidate="">
<div id="mc_embed_signup_scroll">
<div class="mc-field-group">
<label for="mce-EMAIL">Email Address </label>
<input type="email" value="" name="EMAIL" placeholder="️✉️ Enter your email address" class="required email" id="mce-EMAIL"></div>
<div class="mc-field-group input-group" style="display:none"> <strong>Austonia </strong>
<ul>
<li><input checked="checked" value="1" name="group[11998][1]" id="mce-group[11998]-11998-0"></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="mce-responses" class="clear">
<div class="response" id="mce-error-response" style="display:none"></div>
<div class="response" id="mce-success-response" style="display:none"></div>
</div>
<!-- real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups-->
<div style="position: absolute; left: -5000px;" aria-hidden="true"><input type="text" name="b_4d0e7a7bb7e797f1d00b45a6b_ad2a1dda78" tabindex="-1" value=""></div>
<div class="clear"><input type="submit" value="Sign up now" name="subscribe" id="mc-embedded-subscribe" class="button"></div>
</div>
</form></div>
<!--End mc_embed_signup-->
From Your Site Articles
- Austin COVID-19 projections show surge scenarios - austonia ›
- Less distancing may come at 'substantial cost' in lives, UT COVID ... ›
- COVID-19 'does spread silently' as Austin hits record high - austonia ›
- Scientists enlist UT-Austin's supercomputers in global war on COVID ... ›
- College grads see jobs revoked, deferred, canceled as they step ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less
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.
<p>Though the news is less than a week old, CEO Elon Musk said during<a href="https://austonia.com/technology/tesla-coming-to-austin" target="_blank"> the call where he confirmed that the company</a> had chosen Austin that work was already underway.</p><p>The $1.1 billion factory is expected to be producing the Tesla <a href="https://austonia.com/future/tesla-cybertruck" target="_self">Cybertruck</a> and Model Y by late 2021.</p><p>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."</p>
<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d13163.838138555313!2d-97.6253793717816!3d30.22902731665582!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x8644b75ba3b47c31%3A0x729bb90d7d737f1!2sHarold%20Green%20Rd%2C%20Austin%2C%20TX%2078725!5e1!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1595794741640!5m2!1sen!2sus" width="600" height="450" frameborder="0" style="border:0;" allowfullscreen="" aria-hidden="false" tabindex="0"></iframe>
<h5>Want to read more stories like this one? Start every day with a quick look at what's happening in Austin. Sign up for Austonia.com's free daily morning email.</h5><!-- Begin Mailchimp Signup Form -->
<link href="//cdn-images.mailchimp.com/embedcode/classic-10_7.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<style type="text/css">
#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; }<br />
/* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.<br />
We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */<br />
</style>
<div id="mc_embed_signup">
<form action="https://austonia.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=4d0e7a7bb7e797f1d00b45a6b&id=ad2a1dda78" method="post" id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" class="validate" target="_blank" novalidate="">
<div id="mc_embed_signup_scroll">
<div class="mc-field-group">
<label for="mce-EMAIL">Email Address </label>
<input type="email" value="" name="EMAIL" placeholder="️✉️ Enter your email address" class="required email" id="mce-EMAIL"></div>
<div class="mc-field-group input-group" style="display:none"> <strong>Austonia </strong>
<ul>
<li><input checked="checked" value="1" name="group[11998][1]" id="mce-group[11998]-11998-0"></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="mce-responses" class="clear">
<div class="response" id="mce-error-response" style="display:none"></div>
<div class="response" id="mce-success-response" style="display:none"></div>
</div>
<!-- real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups-->
<div style="position: absolute; left: -5000px;" aria-hidden="true"><input type="text" name="b_4d0e7a7bb7e797f1d00b45a6b_ad2a1dda78" tabindex="-1" value=""></div>
<div class="clear"><input type="submit" value="Sign up now" name="subscribe" id="mc-embedded-subscribe" class="button"></div>
</div>
</form></div>
<!--End mc_embed_signup-->
From Your Site Articles
- Elon Musk says $1.1 billion Tesla factory will be in Austin - austonia ›
- Elon Musk seeks to fast-track $1.1 billion Tesla factory in Austin ... ›
- Tesla considering buying Austin site for new factory - austonia ›
- Tesla asks Travis County for 20-year property tax rebate deal ... ›
- Del Valle ISD OKs Tesla tax deal for Austin factory - austonia ›
- Tesla Gigafactory will accelerate growth in southeast Austin - austonia ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less
President Donald Trump tweeted praise for Tesla CEO Elon Musk after the electric carmaker announced it would build its next factory in Texas. Musk promptly responded.
@realDonaldTrump @Tesla Thank you on behalf of the Tesla team. We look forward to building Giga Texas!— Elon Musk 🌹 (@Elon Musk 🌹)1595599932.0
<p>In an interview with Fox News, Trump also told Sean Hannity that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tesla-texas-told-elon-musk-build-factory-2020-7" target="_blank">he suggested Musk choose Texas </a>for the <a data-linked-post="2646318331" href="https://austonia.com/future/tesla-cybertruck" target="_blank">Cybertruck</a> and Model Y plant.<br/></p>
From Your Site Articles
- What Tulsa offers Elon Musk for Tesla's next 'Gigafactory' - austonia ›
- Del Valle ISD OKs Tesla tax deal for Austin factory - austonia ›
- Elon Musk threatens to move Tesla operations to Texas and Nevada ... ›
- Elon Musk seeks to fast-track $1.1 billion Tesla factory in Austin ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less
The proof is in the poo: Sewage testing helps detect Austin COVID outbreaks early, researchers say
24 July
(Austin Water)
The South Austin Regional Treatment Plant is one of the wastewater facilities where researchers are taking samples to test for COVID-19.
Inside a freezer at the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin is a collection of wastewater samples, drawn from the city's two major treatment plants over the last month.
<p>They're stashed away while a team of researchers finalizes their procedure for analyzing them. The goal? To measure the concentration of COVID-19 in the city's domestic wastewater in the hopes of detecting outbreaks sooner. </p><p>"Everybody has to flush," Associate Professor Dr. Mary Jo Kirisits told Austonia. "Everybody is contributing their sample on a daily basis."</p><p><strong>The practice of studying waste</strong></p><p><br/></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<a href="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUxMTM1OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwODQxNTMzN30.pQMBXKgXd-1zPPWgBMR-at3CqvYlZze6TooM7DOrN0U/img.jpg?width=980" target="_blank"><img alt="wastewater sewage" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0e8f0d26363299c1d96231ec7198e433" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="39b98" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUxMTM1OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwODQxNTMzN30.pQMBXKgXd-1zPPWgBMR-at3CqvYlZze6TooM7DOrN0U/img.jpg?width=980"/></a>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..." spellcheck="false">UT researchers take samples to test for COVID-19.</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
(Mary Jo Kirisits)
</small>
</p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p>Kirisits, along with colleagues from the Cockrell School and the Texas Advanced Computing Lab, is working on the study, which was commissioned by Austin Water and is scheduled to run until June 2021.<br/></p><p>The water utility is collecting samples three days a week, sometimes multiple times per day, for the researchers to analyze; they will share their results with Austin Public Health.</p><p>This type of wastewater analysis isn't new. </p><p>"Certainly looking and analyzing wastewater is something that has been done historically for other diseases where vehicles of transmission are being shed by feces," Kirisits said, adding that it continues to be used to detect polio in other countries.</p><p>Now research groups <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2020-05-11/how-wastewater-may-help-track-the-coronavirus" target="_blank">worldwide</a> are applying the technique to monitor the spread of COVID-19. </p><p>Studies show that the viral RNA can appear in feces within three days of infection, which is much sooner than it takes symptoms to appear in some patients or for local hospital rates to reflect an uptick, according to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00973-x" target="_blank">an April report from the journal Nature</a>. </p><p>Local health officials often lament <a href="https://austonia.com/Coronavirus/austin-coronavirus-hospitalization" target="_self">this lag time</a> between when an outbreak occurs and when it is reflected in test results or hospital admission rates. </p><p>But the hope is that this wastewater study can function as a kind of warning system, alerting researchers to any COVID-19 resurgences in the coming months. "If [cases] do start to uptick," Kirisits said, "we're going to be able to see that before the cases start arriving in the hospital." </p><p><strong>How it helps contain a pandemic</strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c946e454b201163963f736b0b93c22b7" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="dcc11" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUxMTM2My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NDEyNDYxNH0.I2tf4BIMMkV0rLVeJF96Y-0WHCUKK93pM4UMKt8GgqI/img.jpg?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Preparing the coolers.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Mary Jo Kirisitis)</small></p><p><br/></p><p>The sooner researchers—and Austin Public Health officials—learn of an outbreak, the sooner they can act to contain it. </p><p>"If we find a hotspot in a part of Austin that hasn't been on the radar screen—because maybe people aren't getting tested in that area for whatever reason—we can say, 'Hey, maybe we need to increase the education about social distancing or mask wearing or hand washing in that area,'" Kirisits said. "Maybe we need to deploy more testing resources to that area."</p><p>Ideally, researchers will also be able to refine the sampling process by deploying autosamplers at different locations around Austin—such as inside a manhole—to help pinpoint where outbreaks may be occurring.</p><p>Relying on samples from the treatment plants, as is currently the case, means researchers can only know if an outbreak is occurring in the area served by one of the two treatment plants, each of which serves around half a million people. </p><p>"Really the point that we're at right now is to use this [COVID-19 concentration metric] to understand what's happening temporarily in our sewersheds here in Austin," Kirisits said. "It's going to be great when we get to the point that [it] is really coming down and it's below our detection limit."</p>
<h5>Want to read more stories like this one? Start every day with a quick look at what's happening in Austin. Sign up for Austonia.com's free daily morning email.</h5><!-- Begin Mailchimp Signup Form -->
<link href="//cdn-images.mailchimp.com/embedcode/classic-10_7.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<style type="text/css">
#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; }<br />
/* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.<br />
We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */<br />
</style>
<div id="mc_embed_signup">
<form action="https://austonia.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=4d0e7a7bb7e797f1d00b45a6b&id=ad2a1dda78" method="post" id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" class="validate" target="_blank" novalidate="">
<div id="mc_embed_signup_scroll">
<div class="mc-field-group">
<label for="mce-EMAIL">Email Address </label>
<input type="email" value="" name="EMAIL" placeholder="️✉️ Enter your email address" class="required email" id="mce-EMAIL"></div>
<div class="mc-field-group input-group" style="display:none"> <strong>Austonia </strong>
<ul>
<li><input checked="checked" value="1" name="group[11998][1]" id="mce-group[11998]-11998-0"></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="mce-responses" class="clear">
<div class="response" id="mce-error-response" style="display:none"></div>
<div class="response" id="mce-success-response" style="display:none"></div>
</div>
<!-- real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups-->
<div style="position: absolute; left: -5000px;" aria-hidden="true"><input type="text" name="b_4d0e7a7bb7e797f1d00b45a6b_ad2a1dda78" tabindex="-1" value=""></div>
<div class="clear"><input type="submit" value="Sign up now" name="subscribe" id="mc-embedded-subscribe" class="button"></div>
</div>
</form></div>
<!--End mc_embed_signup-->
From Your Site Articles
- Austin to stop giving COVID-19 tests to asymptomatic - austonia ›
- Austin's COVID hospitalizations appear to be plateauing - austonia ›
- COVID-19 'does spread silently' as Austin hits record high - austonia ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less
Here it comes: Elon Musk says 'stunning' $1.1 billion Tesla Gigafactory will be built in Austin area
22 July
(Mike Mareen/Adobe)
The Cybertruck pickup and the Model Y will be produced at the Austin Tesla factory.
The Austin metro will soon be home to a $1.1 billion Gigafactory, Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk announced during the company's quarterly earnings update on Wednesday.
<p>"We're going to make it a factory that's going to be stunning," he told investors, adding that construction is "already underway."<br/></p><p>As proposed, <a href="https://austonia.com/technology/elon-musk-tesla/seeking-incentives" target="_self">the factory</a> will be located on a 2,000-acre site in Southeast Travis County. It will provide at least 5,000 jobs and produce <a href="https://austonia.com/future/tesla-cybertruck" target="_self">the Cybertruck pickup</a> and the Model Y, a midsize SUV. </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<a href="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQwNDkzNS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MTg2OTk2Nn0.XnsVKgZAWnWUM-dTjv-kpsZkt0fAK4M1MmOH8U9R1-Y/img.png?width=980" target="_blank"><img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d8ca4be7089690ce9252151cf34f6e03" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="d4515" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQwNDkzNS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MTg2OTk2Nn0.XnsVKgZAWnWUM-dTjv-kpsZkt0fAK4M1MmOH8U9R1-Y/img.png?width=980"/></a>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">(Google Maps)</small>
</p><p>Both <a href="https://austonia.com/technology/tesla-factory-austin-2646383822" target="_self">Del Valle ISD</a> and <a href="https://austonia.com/business/austin-gigafactory" target="_self">Travis County</a> offered Tesla tax rebates to build the factory in their jurisdictions. In exchange for significant long-term incentives, Tesla agreed to a minimum wage of $15 an hour for all factory employees, including construction workers. </p><p>The proposed factory site has been owned for years by the construction supplier Martin Marietta and used for a sand and gravel mining operation.<br/></p><p>The finished factory will include a public-access boardwalk along the Colorado River, Musk said. "It's going to basically be an ecological paradise."</p><p>On Twitter, Mayor Steve Adler said that the factory will bring an "economic boost" to East Austin, while Gov. Greg Abbott welcomed the company.</p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5d86a298f03a4682bc93c9f20a5d4285" id="c7e0f"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1286061037851156485"><div style="margin:1em 0">Tesla picks Texas for its Cybertruck factory.
Thanks to .@elonmusk & .@Tesla for embracing our great state.
Th… https://t.co/tKr7tU2piK</div> — Greg Abbott (@Greg Abbott)<a href="https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/statuses/1286061037851156485">1595455819.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Tesla had support for the factory during the months of negotiation that preceded the announcement, but not from everyone.</p><p>Residents and union members <a href="https://austonia.com/technology/tesla-austin" target="_self">raised concerns</a> during public hearings about Tesla's track record of worker safety and adherence to incentive agreements.<br/></p><p><em>This story is developing and will be updated.</em><br/></p>
<h5>Want to read more stories like this one? Start every day with a quick look at what's happening in Austin. Sign up for Austonia.com's free daily morning email.</h5><!-- Begin Mailchimp Signup Form -->
<link href="//cdn-images.mailchimp.com/embedcode/classic-10_7.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<style type="text/css">
#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; }<br />
/* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.<br />
We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */<br />
</style>
<div id="mc_embed_signup">
<form action="https://austonia.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=4d0e7a7bb7e797f1d00b45a6b&id=ad2a1dda78" method="post" id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" class="validate" target="_blank" novalidate="">
<div id="mc_embed_signup_scroll">
<div class="mc-field-group">
<label for="mce-EMAIL">Email Address </label>
<input type="email" value="" name="EMAIL" placeholder="️✉️ Enter your email address" class="required email" id="mce-EMAIL"></div>
<div class="mc-field-group input-group" style="display:none"> <strong>Austonia </strong>
<ul>
<li><input checked="checked" value="1" name="group[11998][1]" id="mce-group[11998]-11998-0"></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="mce-responses" class="clear">
<div class="response" id="mce-error-response" style="display:none"></div>
<div class="response" id="mce-success-response" style="display:none"></div>
</div>
<!-- real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups-->
<div style="position: absolute; left: -5000px;" aria-hidden="true"><input type="text" name="b_4d0e7a7bb7e797f1d00b45a6b_ad2a1dda78" tabindex="-1" value=""></div>
<div class="clear"><input type="submit" value="Sign up now" name="subscribe" id="mc-embedded-subscribe" class="button"></div>
</div>
</form></div>
<!--End mc_embed_signup-->
From Your Site Articles
- Elon Musk seeks to fast-track $1.1 billion Tesla factory in Austin ... ›
- Tesla asks Travis County for 20-year property tax rebate deal ... ›
- Travis County offers Tesla incentives for Austin Gigafactory - austonia ›
- Travis County considers deal to bring Tesla to Austin - austonia ›
- Del Valle ISD OKs Tesla tax deal for Austin factory - austonia ›
- Tesla considering buying Austin site for new factory - austonia ›
- Tesla Gigafactory will accelerate growth in southeast Austin - austonia ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less
Apple Campus under construction in Austin
Apple is on its way to meeting a 2022 completion date for its new $1 billion Austin campus, aerial footage of construction shows.
<p>The 133-acre site will eventually have <a href="https://www.architectmagazine.com/practice/apple-to-build-1-billion-campus-in-austin-texas_o" target="_blank">space for 15,000 employees</a> across 10 buildings, though it will <a href="https://www.archpaper.com/2019/11/apple-breaks-ground-austin-campus/" target="_blank">initially house about 5,000</a>, the company said.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image image-crop-3x2">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6989ebbafe0df4b8cd54e059461f4f13" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="84ae2" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUwMjQyMi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNDgyNTQ5NX0.ufmW9xT61jabKDRX2bDa-GeJj27UqtgY46MuKzLWXpY/img.jpg?width=1200&coordinates=18%2C0%2C18%2C0&height=800"/>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Apple)</small></p><p><br/></p><p>Apple had 7,000 employees in Austin when it broke ground on the project in November 2019, about twice as many as the company had in the city five years ago.</p><p>A revised plan for the site approved in April showed the <a href="https://austin.culturemap.com/news/city-life/05-20-20-apple-adds-surprising-element-to-1-billion-campus-in-northwest-austin/" target="_blank">addition to the site of a 192-room</a> hotel.</p>
<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d18907.258229225783!2d-97.74650876477091!3d30.45449750457114!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x8644cd0ed17ec211%3A0xa899376b19599582!2s6800%20W%20Parmer%20Ln%2C%20Austin%2C%20TX%2078729!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1595344754693!5m2!1sen!2sus" width="600" height="450" frameborder="0" style="border:0;" allowfullscreen="" aria-hidden="false" tabindex="0"></iframe>
<h5>Want to read more stories like this one? Start every day with a quick look at what's happening in Austin. Sign up for Austonia.com's free daily morning email.</h5><!-- Begin Mailchimp Signup Form -->
<link href="//cdn-images.mailchimp.com/embedcode/classic-10_7.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<style type="text/css">
#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; }<br />
/* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.<br />
We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */<br />
</style>
<div id="mc_embed_signup">
<form action="https://austonia.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=4d0e7a7bb7e797f1d00b45a6b&id=ad2a1dda78" method="post" id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" class="validate" target="_blank" novalidate="">
<div id="mc_embed_signup_scroll">
<div class="mc-field-group">
<label for="mce-EMAIL">Email Address </label>
<input type="email" value="" name="EMAIL" placeholder="️✉️ Enter your email address" class="required email" id="mce-EMAIL"></div>
<div class="mc-field-group input-group" style="display:none"> <strong>Austonia </strong>
<ul>
<li><input checked="checked" value="1" name="group[11998][1]" id="mce-group[11998]-11998-0"></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="mce-responses" class="clear">
<div class="response" id="mce-error-response" style="display:none"></div>
<div class="response" id="mce-success-response" style="display:none"></div>
</div>
<!-- real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups-->
<div style="position: absolute; left: -5000px;" aria-hidden="true"><input type="text" name="b_4d0e7a7bb7e797f1d00b45a6b_ad2a1dda78" tabindex="-1" value=""></div>
<div class="clear"><input type="submit" value="Sign up now" name="subscribe" id="mc-embedded-subscribe" class="button"></div>
</div>
</form></div>
<!--End mc_embed_signup-->
From Your Site Articles
- Elon Musk seeks to fast-track $1.1 billion Tesla factory in Austin ... ›
- Developers see bright future for Austin office market - austonia ›
- Bay area tech workers eye moving to Austin post-pandemic - austonia ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less
