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tesla

Here it comes: Elon Musk says 'stunning' $1.1 billion Tesla Gigafactory will be built in Austin area

tesla gigfactory
(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.

"We're going to make it a factory that's going to be stunning," he told investors, adding that construction is "already underway."

As proposed, the factory will be located on a 2,000-acre site in Southeast Travis County. It will provide at least 5,000 jobs and produce the Cybertruck pickup and the Model Y, a midsize SUV.

(Google Maps)

Both Del Valle ISD and Travis County 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.

The proposed factory site has been owned for years by the construction supplier Martin Marietta and used for a sand and gravel mining operation.

The finished factory will include a public-access boardwalk along the Colorado River, Musk said. "It's going to basically be an ecological paradise."

On Twitter, Mayor Steve Adler said that the factory will bring an "economic boost" to East Austin, while Gov. Greg Abbott welcomed the company.



Tesla had support for the factory during the months of negotiation that preceded the announcement, but not from everyone.

Residents and union members raised concerns during public hearings about Tesla's track record of worker safety and adherence to incentive agreements.

This story is developing and will be updated.

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