Tesla officially opens Texas Gigafactory

Photo by SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images

The opening of the Austin, Texas-based Gigafactory is a crucial step in the company's delayed plans to begin production of its electric Cybertruck. To celebrate the opening of the company, it invited 15,000 people to listen to live music, eat food, and pay homage to the company, which was founded by Musk.

Musk told the audience that they were entering a new phase of the company. Musk wore a black cowboy hat and sunglasses as he said he was excited to begin working on Cybertruck production.

A new version of the Cybertruck was also shown off by Musk. He teased a robotaxi that looked quite futuristic, but didn't provide any details.

It is the company's fourth factory in the US, following the vehicle factory in California, battery factory in Nevada and solar factory in New York. The first European factory for the company was recently opened near Berlin, Germany. The land outside of Austin was purchased for an estimated $5 million.

There is no place like Texas where we can be really big.

Less than a year after Musk declared that Austin would be the site of the company's next Gigafactory, the milestone was achieved. According to a report, Musk has been living at a friend's home in Austin, Texas, and he operates a facility in Texas as well.

The addition of the new Gigafactory is expected to increase the capacity of the company in the US, which has been constrained by space limitations. In order to meet production goals of the Model 3, the company erected a tent outside its factory in California. Musk said that the company's California factory was bursting at the seams and that it would make 1.5 million vehicles in the next four years.

The Texas factory is expected to be where the Cybertruck will be made. The online reservation page was changed and then withdrawn from the site, indicating that the Cybertruck would be delayed. Musk had said that he expected a few trucks to be delivered to customers by the end of 2021, but no deliveries were ever made. The Cybertruck has undergone a number of changes since it was first revealed in 2019.

Model Ys and Model 3s will be built for the East Coast, as well as the long-awaitedTesla Semi. According to the company's latest earnings report, the Model Y will be built in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Photo by Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images

The Texas Gigafactory is located east of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and has two miles of exposure to the Texas River. The company will hire up to 5,000 workers at an average salary of $47,147, with entry-level positions starting at $35,000. About 10,000 people work at the only US car plant of the company.

Texas has given tax breaks and incentives to the company worth millions of dollars. In 2020, the local school district voted to approve $50 million in tax breaks for Tesla, while the county commission approved a deal worth at least $14.7 million.

The welcome has not been completely free of conflict. The Cyber Rodeo celebration was halted last week due to traffic congestion, construction dust, and water pollution. Environmental groups have criticized the company for its Berlin factory project.

The company has faced criticism over its labor practices and workplace safety concerns. The company was sued by California's civil rights agency for operating a racially divided workplace.

The company began looking for a location to build a new factory in the US. Musk said on March 10th that the USA will be central. Austin and Tulsa emerged as the final two after Nashville, Tennessee. A statue of an oil driller was painted to look like Musk, and other flashy moves were put on by officials.

The new facility opens as the company continues to struggle with shutdowns of its Shanghai factory as the city deals with an increase in COVID-19 cases. In the first quarter of 2022, the company sold over 300,000 vehicles to customers.