Excavators and yellow trucks began moving dirt this summer on a stretch of land 15 minutes east of downtown Austin.
Over the next 3 years, Tesla plans to remodel this old sand and gravel mine into its largest “Gigafábrica”, which assembles electric Cybertruck pickup trucks, Model Y SUVs and semi-trailers.the center of the oil-rich country, home to the gasoline-hungry Ford F-150 pickup truck, is another sign of the accelerated energy transition that will have profound implications for Houston’s oil-dependent economy.
“It will be some time before (sales of) electric cars outper charge burning-engined cars, but this happens,” said Dan McDowell, president of InfoNation, a Sugar Land-based automotive knowledge provider.”If oil corporations are smart, if they need in the future, they will start installing charging stations.”
Tesla’s drive to Texas, the country’s largest oil-producing state, comes when countries, businesses, and consumers are moving into the long run with fewer fossil fuels.
In a symbolic sign of global power change, Tesla’s market price recently surpassed that of Texas oil company Exxon Mobil, the world’s highest value company just seven years ago.half of Exxon’s market price of $166.7 billion.
Exxon, recovering from the worst oil drop in decades due to the coronavirus pandemic, replaced this week through California-based generation corporate Salesforce in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a key 30-inventories organization that serves as a benchmark for the U.S. inventory market.But it’s not the first time Exxon’s departure makes Chevron the only energy inventory on the Dow Jones index.
Demand for electric cars is expected to increase over the next decade as Tesla and major automakers increasing production and battery generation continue to advance, helping to reduce costs and autonomy.gasoline cars in the United States as well as 2023.Se estimates that 280 million electric cars will be on international roads until 2040, according to global energy studies firm Wood Mackenzie.
Consumption of electric cars is expected to decrease demand for petroleum products, such as gas and diesel.The International Energy Agency estimates that electric cars have moved approximately 600,000 barrels of petroleum products consistently with the day in 2019.2.5 million barrels consistent with the day until 2030.
Major power corporations, along with Shell, Chevron and BP, are investing in electric vehicle charging corporations to diversify their businesses and prepare for a low-carbon future.
But the president of the American Petroleum Institute, Mike Sommers, said he wasn’t worried about Tesla or the expected expansion of electric cars that are ending the demand for oil and fuel, as much of the electricity needed to produce and force electric cars still comes from herbal and coal-fired fuel strength plants Said.In addition, plastics used in automobiles are derived from petrochemicals, he said.
“Anything that creates new high-tech jobs like Tesla is smart for Texas,” Sommers said.”But when you connect a Tesla, you use fossil fuels. It’s wonderful that the state is getting more jobs with Tesla, but this country will.”continue to have oil and gas.”
Tesla, led by billionaire Elon Musk, has been driving the electric vehicle in recent years, demonstrating that there is a booming market for eco-friendly cars and encouraging major automakers to produce more electric cars.
Electric cars accounted for 2.6% of global sales last year and the coronavirus pandemic slowed car sales this year, but as countries have set emission targets to combat the effects of climate change, the percentage of electric vehicle sales is expected to reach 30% 2030.
Tesla sold a record 367,500 cars in 2019, representing more than a third of the year’s electric vehicle sales. In the first part of 2020, the company produced 184,944 cars and sold 179,387 cars. Prior to the pandemic, Tesla sold between one hundred and 150 cars a month in the Houston area, according to InfoNation.
To meet growing demand, Tesla has introduced one of its so-called Gigafactories that manufacture electric vehicles, batteries and charging stations.Tesla has plants in Fremont, California; Reno, Nev.; and Buffalo, N.Y., and built factories in Shanghai, Berlin and now Austin.
Tesla said it is attracted to Texas due to its central location, making it less difficult for California’s automaker to access East Coast markets.He played a part.
In addition, Tesla is receiving $61 million in tax breaks from Travis County and the Del Valle Independent School District as part of a 10-year financial incentive plan.
“Tesla is one of the most exciting and cutting-edge corporations in the world, and we are proud to welcome your team to the state of Texas,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement.
Giga Texas, as Tesla named the plant, spans 2,100 acres on State Highway 130 and Harold Green Road near Austin National Airport.It will be the company’s fifth and largest production plant in the company.It will also feature a public park, a first for Tesla.
“We’re going to turn it into a lovely factory,” Musk told analysts in July.”It’s right on the Colorado River, so there will be a hike where there will be a hiking and cycling trail.It will necessarily be an ecological paradise”.: birds in trees, butterflies, fish in the stream.”
Tesla bought the Giga Texas site for $97 million in July and plans to invest $1.1 billion in the plant.The company announced plans to rent 5,000 employees for an average salary of $47,000.The Tesla plant, as the Toyota truck plant did for the San Antonio domain component, is expected to be an economic driving force for the Austin Valley domain, where the average household revenue source is approximately $55,000.
However, Austin isn’t the only one looking to space the plant.When Elon Musk tweeted in May that he was looking to expand Tesla to Texas or Nevada due to his frustration with California’s reaction to coronavirus, Houston’s economic progression teams took action.
The Greater Houston Partnership contacted Tesla and Houston-based Howard Hughes Corp. produced a smart marketing video highlighting genuine real estate opportunities in their communities planned through teachers, The Woodlands and Bridgeland in Cypress.
In the end, Tesla chose Austin over Houston, because Musk already knew the domain because his personal rocket company, SpaceX, has operations in MacGregor, north of Austin.Tesla, which also gained financial incentives from Tulsa, Oklahoma, did not respond.to a request for comment.
“We’ve made a concerted effort with the city of Houston and several leaders to show why we thought Houston was a complete solution for Tesla,” said Susan Davenport, director of economic progress at greater Houston Partnership.”I think Tesla had some joy in Austin It was a wonderful victory for them.
While Tesla did not, Davenport said the city has made progress in courting generation corporations since Amazon eliminated Houston for its headquarters in amazon’s 2018.La resolution has generated widespread complaints about the city’s inability to attract coveted generation corporations and the 21st century.. Houston was the largest city in the country that withdrew from the $5 billion campus race and 50,000 e-commerce giant jobs.
Amazon’s resolution accelerated plans in Houston to further diversify its oil-dependent economy and attract technology companies.Rice University is under structure at Ion, a commissioning center in the old Midtown Sears building.Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are opening workplaces in Houston.More recently, Greentown Labs, an incubator of new blank generation companies in Massachusetts, announced plans to open a workplace in Houston.The city of Houston presented a climate action plan this year to reduce the city’s carbon footprint through investment in electric cars and renewable energy sources.
“We are not retracting global desires around classical power,” Davenport said.”But as the world moves toward blank power, we must highlight the fact that we have the experience of power to embrace this transition.Houston is the best”.solution for Energy 2.0.”
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Paul Takahashi is an economic reporter for the Houston Chronicle.