Tesla Confirms Cybertruck Gigafactory Will Be Built At 2,000-Acre Site Near Austin, Texas

Tesla Inc.'s TSLA latest gigafactory will be built near Austin, Texas, the company's Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk confirmed during the quarterly earnings call Wednesday. 

What Happened

The manufacturing facility, meant primarily for the company’s all-electric pickup vehicle — the Cybertruck, will be built on a sprawling 2,000 acres area, Musk said during the call, as earlier reported by CNBC.

The newest Tesla factory will be located 15 minutes away from downtown Austin and will also manufacture the automaker’s Semi, Model 3, and Model Y vehicles for the eastern half of North America, the billionaire entrepreneur added.

Terming the upcoming factory as an “ecological paradise,” Musk revealed, “We’re going to make it a factory that is going to be stunning it’s right on the Colorado River. So we’re actually going to have to have a boardwalk over you, hiking, biking trail. It’s going to basically be an ecological paradise.”

Texas Governor Gregg Abbott hailed the development, saying, “Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas will keep the Texas economy the strongest in the nation and will create thousands of jobs for hard-working Texans.”

Why It Matters

Tesla had earlier reportedly zeroed in on Texas and Oklahoma to build the manufacturing plant. Last week, Travis County, where the new factory would be located, offered the automaker $1.1 billion in tax breaks.

The automaker currently assembles all its U.S. electric vehicles at a single factory in Fremont, California.

Tesla turned a surprise profit in Q2, with adjusted earnings of $2.19 per share. This was the fourth consecutive profitable quarter for the automaker, clearing its entry into the S&P500 index.

ARK Invest analyst Tasha Keeney told Benzinga’s PreMarket Prep that her bull-case price target for Tesla is $15,000 by 2024 based on revenue opportunities outside of auto sales.

Price Action

Tesla shares closed 1.5% higher at $1,592.33 on Wednesday and added another 4.1% in the after-hours session.