Lucas Bell 
At the company’s Q2 earnings call yesterday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company will officially be building their fourth factory, the largest one yet, in Austin, Texas. The 2,100-acre site just outside the airport will soon be the production facility responsible for building Cybertruck and Model Y vehicles.
Austin and Tusla, Oklahoma have been battling over the last few months as Musk weighed both cities for the new factory site. In the end, a $60-plus million tax break provided by the local schools district and the federal government helped sway the decision, according to the AP. Tesla will be investing $1 billion into the Austin facility.
According to Tesla, the new factory in Texas may become home to some 5,000 workers, as the company ramps up production of the Cybertruck and Model Y. The company also stated that wages would start at $15 an hour in low-skill manufacturing positions.
The new factory in Texas marks an interesting shift for Tesla. With pickup trucks being such a high volume product here in the States, dedicating a new plant to build the Cybertruck should help Tesla fill more orders. The Cybertruck garnered a lot of attention and pre-orders following its launch, with Tesla reporting hundreds of thousands of reservations. The company says the truck is slated to begin production in late 2021.
While the company may be more valuable than its Detroit-based competitors, the EV manufacturer still only produces a fraction of the number of cars. If they are going to try and lock down the electric pickup segment, Tesla is going to need to be able to build a high volume of Cybertruck models. This is especially true when you consider that models like the GMC Hummer EV and electric Ford F-150 will be backed by the manufacturing might of Detroit’s automakers. With the help of a brand-new production facility, Elon may just have the firepower he needs to take the fight to the old guard.
