Blog Tesla Considering Cybertruck Factory in Central U.S.

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.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1237531699681980416

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

https://twitter.com/x/status/1224926442527563776

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.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1237579318445793280

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

https://twitter.com/x/status/1237554823471349760

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.

 

[3LECTRC]

Opening up some Tesla stores in the Lone Star State should be a non-starter at the negotiating table.

They do have stores in Texas... Do you mean being able to sell a Tesla to a customer same day from inventory?

 

[jeffnhelen]

Good. Texas has the wrong culture for an EV factory.

This is the perfect reason for a factory to be built. If it can be proven that a like Texas can open up to EVs enough for them to Be built on Oil-laden ground then that would be a huge win for the progression to sustainability. I think there are a couple other reasons Texas is being looked at...one of the biggest consumers of truck and SUV vehicles and also high on the list for EV sales already. Not to mention having a factory in state might make the law makers relax the stupid law preventing Tesla from selling direct to consumers here. And finally, Texas is becoming more and more a democratic state as Californians flock to cities like Austin so I think the winds of change are blowing.

 

[jeffnhelen]

So I hate being one to complain about something and not attempt to do anything about it...

I literally just emailed my local congressman expressing my dismay about us not taking any action to make this come to fruition for TX.

Mind passing on the info for others who want to speak out?

 

[Dragonetti]

They do have stores in Texas... Do you mean being able to sell a Tesla to a customer same day from inventory?

@3Electric: It's my understanding that Tesla has "Galleries" in Texas where people interested in their cars can look and take a test drive, but can't actually purchase or order a car there. It's having to do with not having independent dealers in the state and has been that way since Tesla began their business. Unless that has recently changed I believe that it still holds true.

 

[Tshaffertodd]

MISSOURI is an amazing option as it is centrally locates to the truck belt. Huge amount of technology and engineering companies exist here now with a talented automotive pool in the Kansas City Mo area. Ford and GM already have massive plants here with lots of workforce. The new Ford F-150 electric will probably be built in Claycomo (northern suburb) along side the already announced electric cargo van they are building there. KANSAS City power company is now more than 50% generation by renewables which is one of Elon’s ideals. There are more charging locations in the KC metro than any other city in the United States according to Evergy- the power company. This could be the electric center of the US in production and expertise.

It is crisscrossed by I 70, I 29 I 49, I 35 that go north south and east west. KANSAS City southern railway starts here and goes all the way to the Pacific Ocean through Mexico, BNSF also goes right through and a new billion dollar airport now being built! Lastly KANSAS City has the only inland international trade zone in the US and most of that is in dry limestone caves for storage, security and safety served by over 50 miles of underground roads!- the predecessor to the Boring Company!

Come build the Cybertruck in Kansas City MISSOURI- home of the super bowl champion chiefs for 2020 and the 2015 World Series champion royals.

 

[marvsails]

Good. Texas has the wrong culture for an EV factory.

Gotta replace all those oil related jobs!

 

[ddrmr]

Good. Texas has the wrong culture for an EV factory.

I keep telling Elon that we, in Shreveport, LA have an excellent facility abandoned by GM! It is centrally located with interstates and airports.
C'mon Elon!

 

[dazedNconfuzed]

Steel alone seems a dominating reason to locate the Cybertruck factory close to the Starship factory. Just transporting the steel is likely a nontrivial cost; moving it all to the same area, vs hundreds/thousands of miles divergent, is likely a meaningful cost savings.

As for sales: the showroom model works fine for something having very few options, and with FSD the product can deliver itself.

 

[MrFrosty]

Missouri, we have a huge ton of Cobalt (battery production)....also, the center of the US. Rolla-S&T (Best Damn Engineering University in the US) =))

 

[Merle]

Personally, I'd think that Nevada would be a nice fit. He is close to the Fremont (NUMMI) plant, being about 4 hours away. Reno (Sparks) sits on the crossroads of two major highways (I80 and US50) and has rail yards nearby. Weather is rarely a concern (no snow storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, earth quakes, etc.). There isn't a power issue (Nevada gets a lot from geo-thermal for those who are environmentally conscious) and the price per kWh is $0.11 versus $0.125 nationally - far better than CA's $0.25 kWh.

Also with the Gigafactory right there, transportation of the most heavy and expensive component is greatly reduced.

The proximity to markets (CA and the West Coast) is apparent - again, making it a basic understanding why Google and Tesla built facilities right there.

0% income tax is a positive for workers who might want to relocate, UNR is about 20 minutes away, Panasonic is established (with the Gigafactory) and busing in workers from Carson City about 45 minutes away, giving the State Legislature a heads up as to the positive impact of the company. Low property tax, cheaper property (mostly desert), and new home construction is about $125 sq/ft.

As someone who pondered locations to relocate to - it is one of the brighter spots on the map. TX has too high property tax, tornadoes and thunderstorms dropping balls of ice. Plus the heat / humidity during the summer (though I did enjoy Galveston and Houston last summer).

Michigan has good infrastructure, but brutally cold winters and many automobile workers have fled, reducing the metropolitan area by hundreds of thousands in population.

 

[Hugh-SG]

If they really want quick Profitability, place it under the US-Canada Auto Pact trade agreement and open the plant in Mississauga, Ontario, where cars are made for both sides of the border.

The exchange rate will mean a much lower cost to build each vehicle, but still provide high paying assembly line and tech jobs by for all those experienced UAW workers who recently got laid off by a company that has been poo-pooing EV's as a "fad" for the past 8 years.

Just a wild idea out of the blue.
Cheers!

 

[tashtibet]

Colorado is no doubt the Great outdoor place in the US and it's one of the EV friendliest State. Both the Cybertruck & model Y are so relevant to outdoor -hence, Colorado will be the best choice for the Giga factory.

 

[brucet999]

What about Wyoming or The Dakotas

Advantages:
Cheap land available
Right to work states
Electricity rates among lowest 20% in US
Renewable electricity generation among the highest in US

Disadvantages:
Terrible winter weather
Electricity generation about 66% from coal
Remote from raw materials suppliers
Remote from sub-assembly manufacturers
Remote from import/export shipping locations
Very limited skilled labor pool

 

[brucet999]

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.

Indiana is hostile to direct manufacturer to consumer sales model. Latest law grandfathers Tesla, but prohibits any others; trend could lead to prohibition or limitation on new Tesla stores. (Indiana code 9-32-11-20)

 

[brucet999]

Colorado is no doubt the Great outdoor place in the US and it's one of the EV friendliest State. Both the Cybertruck & model Y are so relevant to outdoor -hence, Colorado will be the best choice for the Giga factory.

Colorado law limits Tesla to one store. Not so friendly, I think.

 

[brucet999]

I think Texas could work well but this article brings up some interesting points :

Why Giga Mexico Offers Tesla Advantages That Giga Texas Can't Match | CleanTechnica

An authoritarian and unstable Mexican government is a strong argument not to invest there.
China had its risks, but instability is not one of them.

 

[navguy12]

If they really want quick Profitability, place it under the US-Canada Auto Pact trade agreement and open the plant in Mississauga, Ontario, where cars are made for both sides of the border.

The exchange rate will mean a much lower cost to build each vehicle, but still provide high paying assembly line and tech jobs by for all those experienced UAW workers who recently got laid off by a company that has been poo-pooing EV's as a "fad" for the past 8 years.

Just a wild idea out of the blue.
Cheers!

I was thinking the soon to be closed GM facilities in Oshawa.

Agnostic, non political statement of fact: health care costs would not be required as part of the operating costs of the facilities in Ontario (or other areas of Canada).

 

[Gladitude]

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.

I'd love to see the Cyber Truck pacing the Indianapolis 500!!

 

[Unclenapolean]

Considering that 2021 is less than 9 months away and that is when production is to begin, that pretty much eliminates building a factory from the ground up. Best option then would be to do like they did with the Fremont factory; namely, buy one of the other auto manufacturer's closed plants. If Elon wanted to rub salt in the legacy auto manufacturers' wounds, he'd pick Detroit, where the infrastructure should still be viable. Considering all the plants that Ford and GM have closed lately, I'm confidant there's plenty of plants for Tesla to pick from.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

Considering that 2021 is less than 9 months away and that is when production is to begin, that pretty much eliminates building a factory from the ground up.

Point taken, but 2021 technically runs through the next 21 months.