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Blog Tesla Considering Cybertruck Factory in Central U.S.

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Tesla plans to build the Cybertruck at a new factory located in the central U.S., Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted Tuesday.

The radically-designed all-electric pickup is slated for production in 2021, but it’s been unclear where Tesla will build the vehicle as it runs out of production capacity at its Fremont, Calif. location. There are reportedly more than 500,000 reservations for the Cybertruck.






Musk previously teased the possibility of a factory located in Texas.






But, since Musk says the company is “scouting,” it doesn’t seem Texas is a done deal. Following Tuesday’s tweet from Musk, several government officials from centrally-located states and municipalities replied with offers to meet with the CEO.

Oklahoma piled on with pleas from the Secretary of Commerce and the Cherokee Nation.






And, the Chamber of Commerce in Joplin, Mo. quickly offered land and incentives to bring Tesla to the Show Me State.






The middle of the country is certainly truck country. A big question for the Cybertruck has been if those blue collar pickup drivers will trade their F-150s and Silverados for an electric-powered hauler.

Delivering not only a better vehicle, but also local jobs, could be one of the best sales pitches to those resistant about an electric truck.

 
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Texas already has close to 30,000 Cyber Truck orders and is clearly the frontrunner in pre-orders of all the central states - this should be very compelling to Tesla. For more details google 'Worldwide Cybertruck Reservation Tracker'
 
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Texas already has close to 30,000 Cyber Truck orders and is clearly the frontrunner in pre-orders of all the central states - this should be very compelling to Tesla. For more details google 'Worldwide Cybertruck Reservation Tracker'
Great that Texas has so many orders!
But - for the factory itself, there need to be EV-friendly laws and politicians - or the factory will be bullied by oily interests. Lobbyists and politicians make the laws, not the people ordering EVs.
(Btw. Trump is considering bailing out the oil industry because of the recent price collapse. So Texas oil could suddenly be "empowered" again. EV's could be less in demand anyway as the price at the pump gets cheap...)
 
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While I'm not from TX, my heart has been there for over 15 years. I'd be a heavy advocate for the factory being built there, but the current culture (government) would have to do a complete 180 with some of their policies (in particular, manufacturer to consumer vehicle sales).

I'd find it challenging for any local politician to not support Tesla wanting to bring a factory there (especially when they've already hinted at actually WANTING to build there). We're talking THOUSANDS of jobs being created for that local economy for generations to come!
 
I think Indiana should be near the top of their list. Tons of of automakers have their factories here (Honda, Subaru, Toyota, GM, etc) and we’re home to the largest steelworks in the US. We also have Purdue and Rose-Hulman which are some of the best engineering schools in the US, so they’d have no problems with finding knowledgeable, experienced workers. Indiana was also willing to give Amazon tons of benefits for their HQ2. Along with being a major interstate highway hub, there’s also direct access to Lake Michigan, so shipping logistics would be ideal.
 
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I think Indiana should be near the top of their list. Tons of of automakers have their factories here (Honda, Subaru, Toyota, GM, etc) and we’re home to the largest steelworks in the US. We also have Perdue and Rose-Hulman which are some of the best engineering schools in the US, so they’d have no problems with finding knowledgeable, experienced workers. Indiana was also willing to give Amazon tons of benefits for their HQ2. Along with being a major interstate highway hub, there’s also direct access to Lake Michigan, so shipping logistics would be ideal.
 
While I'm not from TX, my heart has been there for over 15 years. I'd be a heavy advocate for the factory being built there, but the current culture (government) would have to do a complete 180 with some of their policies (in particular, manufacturer to consumer vehicle sales).

I'd find it challenging for any local politician to not support Tesla wanting to bring a factory there (especially when they've already hinted at actually WANTING to build there). We're talking THOUSANDS of jobs being created for that local economy for generations to come!
I have no doubt that they want "to bring a factory there" - local politicians in particular.
My concern is what they will do once it's built, once Tesla is "captured" there. Will they continue to support it, or will they start to milk it (through various types of bureaucratic bullying) for revenue and politics. My point is - the culture in which Tesla locates factories is important. The Texas track record toward such ventures needs to be closely examined. Have they changed their ways? Why support them otherwise?
 
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My bet is along 80. Major path between east and west. Indiana makes a lot of sense assuming you have the talent pool there and people willing to move to Indiana to work there - designers/engineers. Colorado also makes sense as well. Wherever they decide, they'll have considered all their variables and freebees.
 
I have no doubt that they want "to bring a factory there" - local politicians in particular.
My concern is what they will do once it's built, once Tesla is "captured" there. Will they continue to support it, or will they start to milk it (through various types of bureaucratic bullying) for revenue and politics. My point is - the culture in which Tesla locates factories is important. The Texas track record toward such ventures needs to be closely examined. Have they changed their ways? Why support them otherwise?

Texas has a large tech industry (Austin is known as Silicon Hills), including semiconductor manufacturing. In fact, the HW3 chipset is made at the Samsung factory in Austin, and along with that Tesla has a software design team in Austin. Also, Texas is a HUGE truck buying state and is one reason why Toyota builds their trucks in San Antonio.

Plus, Musk is already in Texas for both SpaceX testing facilities, McGregor and Boca Chica.

Add to that the fact that Texas is one of the leading wind energy producers in the nation, and then combine all of this with the business friendly incentives the Texas Lege loves to tout and you've got a pretty solid argument FOR Texas. In fact, I think Elon would have quite a bit of persuasion with the jobs and influx of capital to persuade the politicians to update their laws.
 
Surely Elon can do better than offering this plum, that will undoubtedly include plenty of jobs, and tax revenues, that many states would bend over backwards to be the recipients of, than one whose politicians are so under the spell of the dealership old boys that they still won't allow Tesla to sell their product there. Opening up some Tesla stores in the Lone Star State should be a non-starter at the negotiating table.