AUSTIN (KXAN/Austin Business Journal) — Travis County’s Tesla gigafactory, which is expected to start production any day now, could have a bigger economic impact on the Austin area than originally thought, Austin Business Journal reports.
ABJ reported CEO Elon Musk wrote on Twitter last week the factory will be a $10 billion-plus investment “over time” and will create at least 20,000 direct jobs and 100,000 indirect jobs.
ABJ said if those plans play out, that could make the electric automaker one of the largest, if not the largest, private-sector employer in the Austin area. ABJ reports according to its records, as of July, popular grocer H-E-B held the No. 1 spot with roughly 19,000 workers.
Tesla intends to produce its Cybertruck, Model 3, Model Y SUV and Semi tractor-trailer at the factory.
ABJ spoke to several analysts who cover the company; they said the gigafactory is critical to the company’s production plans. One of them even stated, “Austin will be the core production artery for Tesla by 2023.”