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AUSTIN (KXAN) – Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced Thursday that he is moving the headquarters of his electric car brand from Palo Alto, California to Austin, Texas.
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“I am pleased to announce that we are moving our headquarters to Austin, Texas,” Musk said during an annual meeting with shareholders.
This came after Tesla announced last summer that Travis County would be the location of its new gigafactory. As recently as this month, the automaker ramped up the hiring for the factory and posted hundreds of new jobs available.
“Our factory is five minutes from the airport, 15 minutes from downtown, and we’re going to create an ecological paradise because we’re right on the Colorado River. It’s going to be great, ”Musk told shareholders on Thursday.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler released a statement following the announcement saying, “We welcome Tesla home!”
“It’s a technology company that is creating the clean, intermediate-skill jobs that Austin needs. We’re one of the safest big cities with a strong innovative, entrepreneurial, and environmentally-minded culture, and Tesla is a perfect fit. Tesla is now an even bigger part of a community working together to meet our challenges and enjoy a magical city. “Said Adler in his statement.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott also welcomed Musk and Tesla on social media, saying, “The Lone Star State is the land of opportunity and innovation.”
Musk said they will continue to expand operations in California, but will also do the same in Texas.
“It’s not about Tesla leaving California, our intention is to actually increase production,” he said.
Tesla follows other large Californian companies like Oracle looking to put down roots in Texas. Oracle announced in December 2020 that it would move its corporate headquarters from California to Austin. Samsung is also considering the city of Taylor as a possible location for its new $ 17 billion semiconductor plant.
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The upcoming Tesla headquarters move comes after Musk’s personal move to Texas, which he confirmed last year.
Impact on the Austin Community
Laura Huffman, President and CEO of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, calls the Tesla headquarters move to Austin a “homerun” for the community.
“We have to remember that Tesla is already going to create around 10,000 jobs, and those are real jobs for real people here in Austin,” she said. “They are career opportunities for people who might otherwise not have had these opportunities.”
She says those opportunities, which include Tesla’s higher wages, apply to high school graduates as well as two- and four-year degrees.
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Huffman called Austin “an innovation community,” and with Tesla’s headquarters it would “cement that reputation not just in Texas but around the world.”
Mayor Adler added in an interview with KXAN on Thursday that Austin is one of the most desirable places to live, and that announcement will continue to draw people worldwide. The airport could also benefit from the additional attention given to the community.
“I think that the growth of the city and our connections to more and more cities at home and abroad are driving us to increase the number of direct flights to more places,” he said.
Tesla’s neighborhood is growing with more affordable housing
As for housing construction, Adler says that Musk “has expressed an intention to help build a significant amount of housing in the community.” Huffman says apartments are already being built around the Tesla Gigafactory.
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