The Dallas Morning News reported that the Dallas council will vote Wednesday on an economic development agreement with Ford in the hopes of being home to the automaker's next self-driving vehicle facility.
Ford is an investor and customer of the self-driving technology company. The two companies established test vehicle depots in Austin, Miami and Washington D.C. in order to prepare for their commercialization plans. The Dallas facility would be similar to those operations if Ford chose it. Argo has test fleets in Pittsburgh, Detroit and Palo Alto.
Over the next five years, the two companies plan to launch at least 1,000 self-driving vehicles on the ride-sharing company's app in a number of cities.
Ford might be looking at over $3 million in tax breaks over the next five years if the agenda item passes. The city would give a $250,000 grant for the construction of the facility, which is proposed to be located at 2335 Burbank Street. To meet its end of the bargain, Ford would need to create at least 250 new jobs and invest at least $160 million at the property.
The Dallas site is one of three that Ford is looking at for its new facility. The other two are in California, where Ford has a presence. Texas doesn't require permits to operate self-driving cars, so Ford might see the benefits of building in the state. California requires separate permits for testing with a driver, testing without a driver, and commercial deployment of drones.
Ford wouldn't comment on the Dallas City Council's agenda item, saying it was all preliminary.
Ford is building its self-driving business for ride-sharing and goods delivery in Austin, Texas, Miami and Washington, D.C., and focused on building a profitable self-driving business. We want to explore a variety of cities in the U.S. to expand our self-driving services. We will share more information about our business in the future.
Musk says that he will move the headquarters of his company to Austin.
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