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TeraFactory & Cybertruck coming to Austin Tx
- Thread starter Bodyhauler
- Start date
Sales staff cannot talk about price and supposedly cannot walk in off the street for a test drive.
Iain
Member
the local news had the story on yesterday but they referenced the Electrek article as their source.
MXLRplus
Active Member
Hahahaha... California High Speed Rail is a joke. It was intended to make SF land speculators rich by building tract homes in the central valley, but it won't be high speed and it won't go to the Bay Area. It's cost estimates have risen by over a factor of 4x, and they haven't hauled a single passenger in it's 12 year history.
What's viable about this is you definitely don't want to be in the City of Austin or in Travis County - most red tape in Texas for building projects, very California-like. Out east of Austin somewhere makes sense.
I see now it's being reported that Tesla has purchased 1,500 acres near Hutto, Tx. That would be great! And close to everything in the Austin area.
Watts_Up
Well-Known Member
After taking a look at this map, out of curiosity, I drove up to this property yesterday afternoon. It was about a 1/2 hour drive from my place in downtown Austin. Once you get off of I-35 and head east on US 79, you're on a 4-lane divided road with lots of stop lights and local traffic, with scenery varying between strip malls and a bit of rural / farming use. Hutto is essentially a suburb of a suburb. Trucking lots of cars out of here towards I-35 could really congest that road. It seems like a property between Austin and San Antonio on I-35 would be a better bet, if incentives were available. But obviously I don’t know the details of the deal.
As you can see from the overhead picture, there are various properties/plots of land included here. What I found interesting is that on the western side of the property are high tension power lines, running north/south (source of high voltage power for the Tera), and bordering the northern edge of the property is a single-track railroad, probably some spur.. I don't know much about railroads.
I drove the perimeter of the property, and from there it looked like 99% of it was cornfield. There was your usual agricultural irrigation, some houses, some crumbling buildings.. it's very large. Along the eastern side of the property were for sale signs for “450 Acres +/-” (which noted that Tax Incentives are available). I took a handful of photos which I can post if people are interested, though it wasn't much to see..
I also thought it was ironic that on the north side of US 79, sat a Ford dealership. It's the big gray parking lot you can see in the overhead photo. I’m fairly sure that would be an incentive for Elon to purchase this property.
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The property is off of TX 130 which bypasses I-35 through Austin. Traffic heading north from that factory site wouldn’t hit I-35 until north of Georgetown, and heading south it goes all the way to I-10.
I think it was Molly Ivans that said the secret to happiness in Austin is avoiding I-35.
That's true, TX 130, "the Pickle Parkway" would allow a bypass of I-35..for a price. But paying the toll may be worth it to speed up the trip.
JPoldo
Member
I am from Massachusetts and far from an expert on Tesla sales in Texas. I got the issue from another thread: A modest proposal . Due to dealership laws, I know some Connecticut owners had to buy ms out of state. Texas appears to have galleries to see vehicles but I doubt Tesla people can talk price, delivery, or take orders. Not certain you can take a test drive too.
In contrast, most other states you can complete the entire sales process. I was able to take a 24 hour test drive which convinced me to buy. Not sure if they still offer this take it home offer. It's nice to hear many Texas buyers feel their purchase was hassle-free.
EV-Tiger
Member
I can address some of your comments regarding Texas having bought two Teslas in a Texas.
"Texas appears to have galleries to see vehicles" - Tesla DOES have galleries (to see the vehicles and talk Tesla) and service center (to take delivery and for repairs). See map
Find Us | Tesla
"But I doubt Tesla people can talk price, delivery, or take orders." - Tesla people CANNOT talk price, delivery or take orders. You are directed to go to the Tesla website for these activities. This can be a problem if don't know how the internet works.
"Not certain you can take a test drive too." - Test drives can be scheduled at the galleries. I do not think you can currently schedule a 24 hour test drive. Before buying my MX, I was referred to Turo (which was a little frustrating) if I want to do a 24 test drive.
"Texas appears to have galleries to see vehicles" - Tesla DOES have galleries (to see the vehicles and talk Tesla) and service center (to take delivery and for repairs). See map
Find Us | Tesla
"But I doubt Tesla people can talk price, delivery, or take orders." - Tesla people CANNOT talk price, delivery or take orders. You are directed to go to the Tesla website for these activities. This can be a problem if don't know how the internet works.
"Not certain you can take a test drive too." - Test drives can be scheduled at the galleries. I do not think you can currently schedule a 24 hour test drive. Before buying my MX, I was referred to Turo (which was a little frustrating) if I want to do a 24 test drive.
Mo City
Active Member
Bottom line: For those of us who were certain of what we wanted, buying a Tesla in Texas was no sweat at all. Not just that, the online process was a slam dunk!
That said, allowing Tesla sales staff to be involved on site would be a huge deal. Not only would the points of contact multiply all over the state, folks on the fence could be more easily persuaded and most people still remain more comfortable with the traditional process.
Tesla also completely misses out on the "impulse buy" segment of auto sales. Just think about what giving people the ability to see, test drive, finance and drive away with a Model Y/3 on the spot could do. There is no bigger "Wow" factor than punching it the first time.
That said, allowing Tesla sales staff to be involved on site would be a huge deal. Not only would the points of contact multiply all over the state, folks on the fence could be more easily persuaded and most people still remain more comfortable with the traditional process.
Tesla also completely misses out on the "impulse buy" segment of auto sales. Just think about what giving people the ability to see, test drive, finance and drive away with a Model Y/3 on the spot could do. There is no bigger "Wow" factor than punching it the first time.
jeffro01
Active Member
Mo City
Active Member
Was it also comical to build GF4 in Germany? Or was it strategic and logical?
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SilverString
Member
It may be one of the most positive elements of the move. Gulf States Toyota is responsible for lobbying this stupid Texas law and if I were to guess, Elon has already laid the groundwork to rid the state of this mentality.
EV-Tiger
Member
tinm
2020 Model S LR+ Owner
Umm...
Did Elon's jet land at a tiny little airport outside Austin this morning?
TheWarOnTesla on Twitter
Did Elon's jet land at a tiny little airport outside Austin this morning?
TheWarOnTesla on Twitter
SilverString
Member
I am not sure I agree 100%. No doubt when out looking for cars and ready to buy it is true, but I bought my Tesla on an impulse on line, and never got to the point of even looking locally. It would be great to have both options.
SilverString
Member
It's not illegal, there is just no process thanks to Gulf States Toyota lobbying. Currently to buy a new Tesla in Texas you have to place the order online, the car gets titled in Fremont then the title gets transferred to Texas - that is the work-around. Obviously it's not hard to get one, just a little inconvenient, I did it and so have 1000's of others. Used Tesla's can be sold and titled anywhere, in any state as far as I know.
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