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The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce has been awarded the Business Facilities 2020 Deal of the Year Gold Award for bringing the Tesla Gigafactory plant to the Travis County area.
According to the chamber's website, Business Facilities is a national publication that has been the leading location source for corporate site selectors and economic development professionals for more than 50 years. It awards a gold, silver and bronze place every year, judging deals made across the country. It also lists honorable mentions.
While there were other major deals announced in 2020, such as the Oracle headquarters also moving to Austin, it was ultimately the Tesla deal that won the Chamber of Commerce the award.
In July 2020, Tesla's CEO Elon Musk announced Giga Texas would build a $1.1 billion assembly plant in Southeast Travis County after working through an incentive deal and deciding between Tulsa, Oklahoma. The electric automotive company will produce its Model Y, Cybertruck and semi tractor-trailer at the factory.
The move is expected to bring thousands of jobs to the Austin area, with many already listed on its website.
"The plant that will build Tesla's first entry into the truck market was one of the most coveted projects of the year," wrote Business Facilities Editor in Chief Jack Rogers in the award's announcement. "The Cybertruck assembly plant vaults Austin into the top tier of automotive manufacturing hubs."
Honorable mentions by Business Facilities also went to two other Texas deals: Pflugerville for its Amazon distribution center and Irving-Las Colinas for Microsoft.
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Popular
(Austin FC)
Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff is here to stay as the Club announced he signed a three-year contract extension.
Wolff, who was previously an assistant coach for the U.S. Men's National Team, will coach Austin FC through the end of 2025 under the new contract.
Wolff has been the Austin FC head coach since November 2019. In the team's first year, some hoped to oust Wolff as the team was at the bottom of the Western Conference. But this year, the team is at the top, ranking No. 3.
“This is still a young, growing Club but seeing our vision for Austin FC come to life on and off the field has been one of the great honors of my career. My staff and I will keep working every day to represent the city, and to develop our team both competitively and as human beings. The best is yet to come," Wolff said.
(Moriah Wilson/Instagram)
Austin police are investigating the killing of Moriah "Mo" Wilson after she was found with gunshot wounds inside an East Austin home.
Wilson, a gravel and mountain bike racer, was visiting Austin from Colorado in preparation for the Gravel Locos race on Saturday taking place in Hico, a small town 2 hours from Austin.
On Wednesday, her roommate came home and found Wilson unresponsive with "a lot of blood near her,” police said, on Maple Avenue near East 17th Street. Officers and EMS performed life-saving measures before she was declared deceased at 10:10 p.m.
The Travis County Medical Examiner's office conducted an autopsy and determined the official cause of death to be multiple gunshot wounds, and the manner of death was a homicide. It is being investigated as a suspicious death and as of Saturday, police said they have a person of interest.
Wilson, 25, recently had become a full-time biker after winning a slew of races in the past year.
This story was updated on May 15 to include that police have determined a person of interest.