Elon’s Plan for Texas

Elon Musk’s companies Tesla and Neuralink are the reported subject of filings in Texas for the construction of two new facilities.

Filings in Travis county detail a new campus for Neuralink, with a 78 thousand square foot facility; both located in the Del Valle region. The reported site is roughly 20 minutes away from Gigafactory Austin, where the current Neuralink HQ is located.

But the big news in the filings is a plan for a lithium hydroxide refinery. The facility would produce battery-grade lithium and would be the first of its type in North America.

Tesla is reportedly not entirely convinced on the site located near Corpus Christi, and are also looking into some land in Louisiana as well.

What’s likely to tip the scales in Tesla’s decision is if they’re able to get some sort of property tax relief. 

The location in Texas is apparently under the control of Robstown Independent School District, and so Tesla is currently appealing to them for a cap of around $20 million on land value, which could save the company over $16 million over ten years.

It’s actually pretty common for school districts to hold land for the purposes of fundraising as much as potential expansion, so with some discussion, it’s likely Robstown would decide to sell or lease some land to Tesla.

And getting a lithium refinery so close to GigaTexas would be hugely beneficial for Tesla’s future production line. Let’s hope they land the deal.