AUSTIN (KXAN) — The agreement between the Travis County Commissioners Court and Tesla, released on Thursday, would provide tax incentives for the company in exchange for thousands of new jobs in Travis County.
Tesla hasn’t made a decision on the location of its new, planned gigafactory. Reportedly, Tulsa, Oklahoma is also in contention for the company’s facilities.
The agreement will give Tesla tax rebates to build its gigafactory in Travis County. The facility would be on 3,500 acres at the intersection of State Highway 130 and Harold Green Road in eastern Travis County. Tesla reports the project isn’t financially feasible without Travis County assistance.
Tesla’s initial investment is nearly $1.1 billion over the course of five years to produce vehicles, vehicle parts, electric batteries, solar panels, and other products that use or produce sustainable energy.
KXAN’s Yoojin Cho reported the investment would lead to a 70% rebate on Operations and Maintenance taxes. County officials said that would come out to about $14 million in rebates over 10 years.
Additional investment is incentivized:
- 75% rebate on O&M taxes on incremental investment from $1.1 – $2 billion
- 80% rebate on O&M taxes on incremental investment over $2 billion
The initial new facilities include approximately four million square feet or more of operating space and will create 5,001 new, full-time jobs over the next four years in Travis County.
