In 2014, Tesla announced plans to build a massive battery manufacturing plant, setting off fierce competition for what was then one of the country’s biggest economic-development prizes. The company narrowed the finalists to five states — Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas — and Nevada prevailed.
Last month, Musk hinted that a factory could be built in Texas. The Texas Enterprise Fund, created by the state’s legislature under former Gov. Rick Perry, has become one of the largest payers of economic-development incentives in the nation. Texas offered $2.3 million to entice SpaceX, the rocket company Musk founded and runs, to locate a launch facility in Brownsville, on the Gulf Coast near the Mexican border. Tesla’s chip team is based both in Palo Alto, Calif., where Tesla is headquartered, and in Austin, Texas.
Tesla’s sole U.S. auto assembly plant is in Fremont, Calif., where the company makes the Model S, X and 3 and has begun producing the Model Y crossover. Commenting on his tweet Tuesday, Musk said “Model Y production for east coast too,” without elaborating. Texas is the top state for pickup sales in the country and home to GM and Toyota Motor Corp. truck factories.
