Inauguration of the new Tesla mega-factory in Texas, Elon Musk’s adopted state
Between the thousands of invitations and the cult devoted to Elon Musk by his fans, the inauguration of the new Tesla factory in Austin on Thursday looks like a star concert, in the now established tradition of the whimsical billionaire who celebrates extraordinary growth of his company and his establishment in Texas, far from the Californian culture.
For several days, fans of the high-end electric vehicle brand have been tweeting at the boss asking for tickets to the event. It will accommodate up to 15,000 people, according to the Austin American-Statesman newspaper.
“I found the golden ticket!” “, tweeted Wednesday Luke Metzger, president of a Texas environmental NGO, in reference to “Charlie and the chocolate factory”. “Thank you Elon Musk! he added, along with a screenshot of his invitation to the ‘Cyber Rodeo – Giga Texas’, to be held at ‘1 Tesla Road, Austin, Texas’.
Rumors regarding this inauguration are circulating widely, without the company, which is very secretive, communicating directly.
“Big party for the opening of Tesla’s new home, which spans 74 acres and is worth $1.1 billion. Free interactive tours. Free barbecue. Open bar. Two stages with bands and other entertainment. +Speech at sunset+”, indicated Tuesday the WhenWhereWhatAustin Instagram account, which lists events in the Texas capital.
– “Problem of the rich” –
“Giga Texas”, whose surface is equivalent to a hundred football fields, has already been in operation since the end of 2021.
This is Tesla’s fifth “mega-factory”, following those in Nevada, New York, Shanghai and Berlin – the automaker’s first European site, which opened to great fanfare in March.
These factories produce cars, but also equipment and batteries on a very large scale.
According to Jessica Caldwell, of the specialized firm Edmunds, that of Austin will release the Model 3 and Y, “and it is also there that the Cybertruck pickup and the Semi truck will be manufactured”, the production of which is to be launched in 2023.
“Tesla has a rich man problem: demand exceeds supply to the point that Model Ys and some Model 3s are delivered 5 to 6 months late in some parts of the world,” said analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. “The solution lies mainly in Austin and Berlin.”
The company wants to grow its deliveries by 50% on average per year, and should still “comfortably” exceed this goal in 2022, Elon Musk said during a conference call in January.
The manufacturer has delivered more than a million vehicles over the last twelve months, despite current production constraints linked to the shortage of electronic chips.
In the first quarter alone, Tesla delivered 67% more vehicles than for the same period in 2021, when Toyota and General Motors saw their sales fall by more than 20% in volume.
– “Identity crisis” –
Thursday evening also marks the personal evolution of Elon Musk. The South African entrepreneur-turned-richest man in the world started Tesla in 2003 in Silicon Valley, California, but moved its headquarters to Texas in late 2021.
This US state is known for its conservative policies – it made headlines recently for passing a particularly restrictive abortion law – and for its tax incentives: there are no corporate or income taxes .
According to the Austin American-Statesman, Tesla benefited from tax exemptions valued at more than 60 million dollars to build its mega-factory, supposed to eventually employ 10,000 people.
Texas is also synonymous with oil and big, polluting cars. “I think Elon Musk is having a bit of an identity crisis. He forgot who his clients were,” comments independent analyst Rob Enderle.
But the boss is in trouble with California on various subjects.
In February, the state Democrat filed a lawsuit once morest the Fremont plant for racial discrimination. The site is also known for failed unionization attempts.
And in May 2020, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the authorities refused to immediately reopen this same factory because of health measures, Elon Musk challenged them to come and “stop” him.
Hidalgo County, in southern Texas, jumped at the chance, offering to set up operations on its territory. But it was Travis County, a suburb of attractive – and Democratic – Austin, which won the favor of the very courted businessman.
