The impact
Since 2020, Tesla estimates it spent $15 million in taxes to Travis County, and over $49 million to Del Valle ISD.
In 2022, the company estimated it supported $2.1 billion in total sales activity—money spent on materials to build the factory—in Travis County.
The presentation also revealed the average annual pay for Tesla employees in Travis County in 2022 was just over $66,000. The average salary for all Tesla employees is about $74,000.
“I know there’s lots of chatter in the community about [Elon] Musk and Tesla and all that,” Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea said. “What you’ve created here is remarkable, and for the critics, I think you just stand on what you’ve accomplished and what you’ve created.”
Dig deeper
Before Giga Texas opened, Tesla promised Travis County the plant would bring in 5,000 jobs—at least 50% of which would go to Travis County residents in exchange for a tax incentive that would save Tesla $13.9 million over its first 10 years.
Tesla’s Oct. 17 presentation revealed the plant now has well over 15,000 employees, just over half of which were given to Travis County residents.
Tesla is also required to invest 10% of its annual maintenance and operations taxes in programs that boost education and employment opportunities in Central Texas. Tesla’s 2023 requirement was $298,000; however, it plans on spending over $750,000. The Commissioner's Court approved Tesla’s funding plan for the following projects at its Oct. 17 meeting:
- $100,000 to Austin-based sustainability and education group EcoRise
- $30,000 for workforce training at American YouthWorks
- $25,000 to the Colorado River Alliance for river cleanup expenses
- $32,000 to Black Leaders Collective for the State of Black Education program
- $75,000 to Austin Urban League for its Green Jobs Initiative
- $100,000 to Partners for Education Agriculture and Sustainability for programs at 10 schools throughout Austin ISD, Manor ISD and Del Valle ISD
- $12,000 for externships at Workforce Solutions
- $376,880 to fund three new staff positions at Del Valle ISD
- Undetermined amount of funding for robotics equipment for Del Valle ISD classrooms
Rohan Patel, policy and business development leader at Tesla, said Austin’s student-to-employee pipeline has become a “well-oiled machine” compared to some of Tesla’s other major outlets thanks to programs at Austin Community College and Workforce Solutions.
“What’s really difficult is that people don’t understand the scale even when you’re driving through it. It’s 50% bigger than the Pentagon. It’s the second largest factory building in the world. That doesn't happen without a lot of partnership with government,” Patel said.
Shea added Tesla’s factory has the opportunity to be a “huge ladder out of poverty” if the automaker hires people without college degrees.
“The population they’re targeting, which are people who have less than a college degree—that’s 50% of our population—which I still find a shocking statistic,” Shea said. “Those are frequently the people who are stuck in dead-end jobs, maybe working two or more of them, with probably no medical, no retirement, no real benefits.”
What’s next
Tesla’s $750,000 funding commitment for local education and sustainability programs is expected to come through by early next year.
What else?
Just west of Giga Texas, Tesla is ramping up a 120-acre ecological restoration project between Hwy. 130 and FM 973. Workers have already planted 5,000 trees and 2,000 wetland plants, and removed invasive species across 50 acres of the site.
When completed, the site will have a shallow pond that doubles as a wildlife habitat and solution for stormwater management.
