Tesla has released its documents containing the footprint of its large US$1.1 billion electric vehicle factory where bulldozers and other construction equipment have been at work for weeks in southeast Travis County. The statement contains its plans for 280 acres of the 2,100-acre tract that it purchased for US$97 million in July.
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Tesla has said the vehicle factory will serve consumer demand in the eastern and central portions of the country for the company’s Model 3 compact sedan, which has become its top seller, and for its recently introduced Model Y compact sport utility vehicle. The plant also will be the launching point for two new Tesla products — the company’s planned Cybertruck pickup and its commercial semi-truck for long-haul shipping. Elon Musk, the company’s CEO commented that “we are going to make it a factory that is going to be stunning,” Musk said at the time. “It is right on the Colorado River. So we are actually going to have a boardwalk where there will be a hike and biking trail. It is basically going to be an ecological paradise — birds in the trees, butterflies, fish in the stream. And it will be open to the public as well, so not closed and only open to Tesla.”
Whereas the plans for the remaining 1,800 remaining plans are still unknown, Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said he anticipates a significant amount of additional development at the site by Tesla, although he noted that the company has a reputation for keeping its plans close to the vest. “I see, ultimately, them making this much more than a typical factory,” Ives said. “It’s not just about the (vehicle) factory.” As things stand, about 70% of Tesla’s vehicles are produced at its manufacturing facilities in Fremont, Calif., and about 30% are produced at a factory in China that it opened late last year. In addition to the planned Austin factory, a Tesla assembly plant in Germany is under construction.
