Tesla, ACC unveil START Manufacturing training facilities

Austin Community College district and Tesla unveiled facilities the college will use for a manufacturing technician program, created to form a hiring pipeline between the college and the electric auto manufacturer.

ACC Chancellor Richard Rhodes, Tesla representatives and Austin Mayor Steve Adler were present at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 19.

The facilities, located at the ACC Riverside Campus, will be used for the START Manufacturing program. Students selected for the 14-week Tesla program will be hired to work for the company. These students will learn about technology used at Tesla manufacturing facilities, including robotics and control systems at ACC.

The program began in August.

In October, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company would move its headquarters to Austin. At that time, Musk also said Tesla’s Gigafactory, located in Southeast Austin, would be running by the end of 2021 and would reach high-volume production by the end of 2022.

The plant will manufacture Tesla's Cybertruck, as well as the batteries used in the automaker's vehicles. Musk said the company was considering the production of ATVs out of Giga Texas.