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Austin will soon be home to Tesla's fourth Gigafactory. The company's other factories are in Fremont, California; Sparks, Nevada (shown here); and Buffalo, New York.
A new site plan filed by electric carmaker Tesla provides another glimpse at the company's forthcoming $1.1 billion, 2,100-acre Gigafactory in southeast Travis County.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the plan outlines "a huge & spectacular facility," in a Facebook post. "Construction equipment (has) been hard at work for weeks at the site where Tesla will build electric vehicles & may cast an even larger vision," he wrote.
The document lays out Tesla's plan for 280 acres of the site, including the construction of a massive vehicle manufacturing plant that, including parking space, will cover 7.9 million square feet.
But it remains unclear what the company plans to do with the remaining 1,820 acres.
Some analysts have speculated that, in addition to producing the Cybertruck pickup and Model Y SUV, the Austin factory may also manufacture batteries, similar to the one in Nevada.
There has also been chatter that Tesla may consider relocating its headquarters from California, where CEO Elon Musk has clashed with county officials over coronavirus orders, to Texas.
Musk announced Austin would be home to the next Gigafactory in late July, after a competitive selection process that saw Del Valle ISD and Travis County offer the company tax rebates for building the factory in their jurisdictions.
In early August, construction supplier Martin Marietta disclosed it had sold the factory site—at the intersection of SH 130 and Harold Green Road, near the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport—to a Tesla entity for $97 million, according to the Austin Business Journal.
Prior to both announcements, however, the site was a hotbed of construction activity as Tesla began reclamation work, that a city staffer said "would be the first step in preparing the site for future development."
New Tesla Gigafactory site in Austin, Texas(youtube)
The first substantial completion, or construction milestone, is scheduled for next spring with the full factory expected to be up and running by the end of 2021, a spokesperson for the Austin Chamber of Commerce confirmed to Austonia, .
As proposed, the factory will provide at least 5,000 jobs, not including the thousands of construction workers who will build the facility.
The company currently has 21 Austin-based job postings for the Gigafactory, including a construction project manager and site architect, in addition to other postings for jobs such as game developers.
Some of Musk's other ventures are also looking to lay down roots in the Austin area, including his "Fitbit in your skull" startup, Neuralink, which is hiring four positions locally.
More on Elon Musk and Austin:
- Elon Musk seeks to fast-track $1.1 billion Tesla factory in Austin ... ›
- Travis County offers Tesla incentives for Austin Gigafactory - austonia ›
- Elon Musk says $1.1 billion Tesla factory will be in Austin - austonia ›
- Work underway on Tesla's Austin Gigafactory site - austonia ›
- Tesla Gigafactory will accelerate growth in southeast Austin - austonia ›
- Tesla files plans to build batteries at Austin Gigafactory - austonia ›
- Elon Musk announces Austin Gigafactory will open in 2021 - austonia ›
- Austin reigns as top Tech Town for the second year in a row - austonia ›
- Transit in austin, why it's important and developing - austonia ›
- This Austin startup is bringing all-electric Powersports to town - austonia ›
- Austin Chamber of Commerce Wins Magazine's Deal of the Year - austonia ›
- Tesla to build new showroom in south Austin - austonia ›
- Tesla's Austin Gigafactory on track to open later this year - austonia ›
- Apple plans for new EV while growing Austin presence - austonia ›
- New lawsuit alleges sexual harassment at Tesla factory - austonia ›
- Giga Texas on track to start production of Model Y by year's end - austonia ›
- Tesla HQ moves to site of Austin Gigafactory - austonia ›
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May's second election is here, in which voters will decide on the candidates to represent their party in the November general election after the winner in some March primary races was unclear.
Just like the March primaries, voters will choose which party they choose to vote in. Then based on location, each ballot will show which races are in a runoff.
In Texas, candidates must win at least 50% of the vote to be elected. In the races where the top candidate only received a plurality of votes, a runoff is being held.
Here's everything you need to know before heading to the polls.
Know before you go
Early voting for the Texas primary runoff election begins Monday and will last through May 20; Election Day is May 24.
The registration period for this election has passed; check if you're registered to vote here.
The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. As long as you're in line by 7 p.m., you can vote.
You'll need a valid photo ID to present once you're at a polling location.
Here are the early voting locations in Travis County.
View wait times at polling locations here.
Races to watch in Travis County:
Statewide
Lieutenant Governor
- Republican: Incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick won his primary in March.
- Democratic: Mike Collier and Michelle Beckley are vying to be the Democrat candidate on the ballot.
- Republican: Incumbent AG Ken Paxton is fighting for his seat against George P. Bush.
- Democratic: Rochelle Garza and Joe Jaworski will face off to be the Democratic candidate in this race.
View all the statewide races on the ballot here.
U.S. House of Representatives
View the district you live in here.
District 21
- Republican: Incumbent Chip Roy won his primary in March.
- Democratic: Claudia Andreana Zapata and Ricardo Villarreal are hoping to secure this vote.
- Republican: Dan McQueen and Michael Rodriguez are going head to head to be the Republican candidate in this race.
- Democratic: Former Austin council member Greg Casar won this race in March.
District 19
- Republican: Ellen Troxclair and Justin Berry are vying to be the Republican candidate in this race.
- Democratic: Pam Baggett won her primary in March.
(Pexels)
Fuel costs in Austin and across the nation are record high—and they're not going down anytime soon.
Average gas prices in Travis County are sitting a hefty $4.16 per gallon, according to AAA, compared to an average of $2.70 last year. Nationwide, fuel prices are at an average of $4.48 per gallon.
The bill per gallon is the highest ever recorded in Austin but experts don’t expect a reprieve anytime soon—GasBuddy head of petroleum analysis Patrick DeHaan said to expect new records on a “near daily” basis.
"There isn’t much reason to be optimistic that we’ll see a plunge any time soon,” DeHaan said, adding to expect prices closer to $5 by the end of the week.
Why are prices climbing? DeHaan says to blame low inventory combined with high demand, more expensive blends and warming temperatures jump-starting “driving season.”
While gas prices are marginally cheaper in Williamson and Hays Counties, between $4.12-$4.13, surrounding counties are locked into the same price range.