Popular thing to do in Austin is get a cooler full of beer, rent an inner tube and float down the Colorado river.
Is this a picture of the site? Colorado river winding thru? What is the airport in the background - is that the civilian airport (Bergstrom)? edit: Posted prior to reading prior posts, which suggest the answers to my questions. I will keep the post up to encourage @cybertrucker to confirm what is in the picture
So, Teslas will be made in Texas, but Tesla can't sell them there? Do I have this right? Tesla US dealership disputes - Wikipedia
Thanks for your reply, I appreciate the response. You're right that thousands of people have bought Teslas in TX without any issues. And that's great that your experiences have gone so well. Maybe I gave off the wrong impression with my message. I do NOT think having the factory in Austin will make it more difficult to buy a Tesla in TX and I agree with you that right now there are no major hiccups for purchasing a Tesla in TX. I also agree with your point about the strong dealership network in TX, which was more to maybe what I was curious about and not so clear in asking. As you are aware, in TX you can't currently purchase a vehicle directly from the manufacturer in the state, right? So unless the laws change before the factory is complete and pumping out vehicles, I believe the current law would require Teslas to be temporarily shipped out of state and then brought back into TX to be sold to TX customers. Like you said, as it stands, there are no issues buying a Tesla in TX and this certainly wouldn't be an issue if this is what would need to happen. However, I imagine the entire process would be even smoother if direct sales to customers were allowed in the state (much to the frustration of dealerships). Speculation on whether part of Tesla's factory negotiating would allow them to sell directly to customers? Or would we already have this news if that were the case? At the very least, I could imagine that not needing to send vehicles back-and-forth across state lines would cut costs for Tesla (for vehicles staying in TX) and also get vehicles into the hands of TX customers even slightly quicker, right? Maybe I'm simply overestimating the volume of Teslas that would stay in TX to matter.
This is sort of related to the question I'm asking too. RE: Speculation on the impact the Austin factory could have on purchasing a Tesla in TX? There aren't any problems buying a Tesla in TX now but I'm curious about how things could potentially be even smoother with the factory here in TX. Not sure if any of the negotiating addressed this and, if it did, whether we'd already catch wind of this in the news.
Here's my drive-by of the Austin Gigafactory site from earlier today. This is the view from the 130 toll road (should I start a GoFundMe lol) which is really the only ground-level vantage point.The "Harold Green Road" ventures into the property but quickly dead-ends at a security checkpoint.
“As you are aware, in TX you can't currently purchase a vehicle directly from the manufacturer in the state, right?” Yes. I am aware of this as very close relatives work for a Texas automobile distributorship and a Texas automobile dealership. However, I bought my Teslas DIRECTLY from the manufacturer (on-line). I do not believe that Tesla will be forced to ship the CyberTruck to, say Louisiana, then ship it back to me in Texas. My belief is based upon this recent quote, “Jennifer Stevens, a spokeswoman for the Texas Automobile Dealers Association, described the organization’s state for Tesla’s operations in the state. “Tesla has long used an online model for the sale of their vehicles, and nothing in Texas law prevents a Texas consumer from purchasing a Tesla online and having it delivered to them in the state,” Stevens said.” To me, it’s pretty clear but I / everyone will know for certain, and soon.
The photo is the approximate area of the future gigafactory from the North, looking South. The airport in the background is AUS (Austin Bergstrom International). The highway is US 183. Yeeeeeeehawww!
Yup, I'm gonna slap a big "Proudly made in Texas!" sticker on the rear bumper of my CT. And no, I'm not kidding. I'm honestly expecting the big diesel pickup guys to be even angrier at my CT than they have been about my Model 3. And the amount of anger I've been shown has honestly been surprising. I get "coal rolled" more often than I ever thought I would be. I can see these kinds of people getting far, far angrier about an electric pickup truck than a four door family sedan. Maybe having the "Proudly made in Texas!" sticker will appease them to some degree. Who knows, it might even pique their interest in making the switch to a more environmentally sound vehicle choice. To be honest, I didn't even start to care about the whole Go Green movement until I bought my 3. Now it's one of the primary family discussion topics. But I digress. I just can't wait to get driving my CT!
The glass stopped repeated hits with a massive projectile. Even if it cracks under side-arms fire, should hold up sufficiently for the circumstance (happy to pay for replacement after). And I assume that within the week of "the crack" there were cost-is-no-object plans for nominally bulletproof glass on Elon's desk. (Until then, his comments subtly reference lower standards.)
“Nominally”. Will stop a 115 gr 9mm. We’re talking warding off common street thugs & protestors, not hardened contractors coming for you in particular.