Ever since Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter that Tesla was looking for a site for the upcoming Cybertruck Gigafactory, we’ve been patiently waiting for the official announcement. It seemed early on that Texas may end up being the spot, though there were a few other solid options, including Tulsa, OK. Not long ago, we heard Tesla chose Austin, Texas, but the company didn’t substantiate those reports until this week’s Q2 2020 Earnings Call.
As soon as we received the earnings letter, we knew Tesla had chosen the site. However, the letter didn’t reveal it. That’s because it was left for Musk to reveal at the beginning of the call. He said Gigafactory Austin will be located about five minutes from the city center and 15 minutes from the airport. Still, we don’t have the official coordinates of the property.
Musk said on the call (via Teslarati):
“It’s about 2,000 acres and 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 a boardwalk, where there’ll be hiking/biking trail. It’s going to basically be an ecological paradise, birds in the trees, butterflies, fish in the stream, and it’ll be open to the public as well.”
Teslarati shared a tweet revealing what it says is actual video footage of the site for the upcoming Austin factory. It was first posted on Twitter by @joesimmons79, who is a resident of Austin and an avid Tesla fan. As you can see, it appears some work is already being performed, and there’s heavy equipment on site.
Musk said on the earnings call that “initial construction work is already underway,” and it appears he wasn’t kidding. As you can see in the video at the top of this post from the Jeff Roberts YouTube channel at around the 2:30 mark, a number of land moving vehicles are already doing their thing, preparing the ground for construction of the first buildings.
This first footage marks just the beginning of a huge construction project and we look forward to watching it progress with you over the next year or so. Stay tuned!