On Wednesday, Tesla made its move from California to Texas official when they informed the United States Securities and Exchange Commission that the company had relocated to Austin.
“The move makes good on CEO Elon Musk’s promise to pick up and leave California amid spats with local government over COVID-19 protocols when the virus first began to spread in the US last year,” reported CNET. “Musk, who himself has moved to Texas, reiterated the plan back in October but did not give a timeframe for when the carmaker would officially pack up and leave.”
The SEC filing announced the relocation, stating that “On December 1, 2021, Tesla, Inc. relocated its corporate headquarters to Gigafactory Texas at 13101 Harold Green Road, Austin, Texas 78725.”
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk first shared his intention to move Tesla’s headquarters from California to Texas back in October.
The Tesla CEO made the announcement at the company’s annual stockholder meeting, which took place in Austin, Texas, at a Tesla vehicle assembly plant.
Musk also clarified that production will still be ramping up at Tesla’s California plant.
“To be clear we will be continuing to expand our activities in California,” Musk said. “Our intention is to increase output from Fremont and Giga Nevada by 50%. If you go to our Fremont factory it’s jammed.”
“It’s tough for people to afford houses, and people have to come in from far away,” Musk said. “There’s a limit to how big you can scale in the Bay Area. In Austin our factory is like five minutes from the airport, 15 minutes from Downtown.”
Musk had previously threatened to move Tesla’s headquarters last year when COVID lockdowns shuttered the company’s manufacturing facility in Fremont, California.
“Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependen [sic] on how Tesla is treated in the future,” Musk tweeted.
“Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA,” Musk added.
Tesla is now pouring over $1 billion into its Austin-based “Gigafactory.”
According to CNBC’s review of Texas Department of Regulation filings:
Tesla plans to spend at least $1.06 billion on what the company calls a “Gigafactory” that will produce the company’s forthcoming electric pickup truck, Cybertruck, as well as Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
The permits show that Tesla’s previously announced expansion next to the Colorado River remains on track to start producing vehicles in the near future and that the company is investing a substantial amount of capital at the 2,000-acre facility…
The Texas filings, dated Nov. 19, show that Tesla started construction in Sept. and Nov. 2020 on facilities intended for body work, stamping, casting, painting, and full vehicle assembly at the plant, which will have more than 4.2 million square feet of space.
CNBC added that Tesla also has factories in California, Nevada, and Shanghai; the firm is currently building a plant in Berlin.