Tesla’s Austin Gigafactory Triples Workforce, Creates Over 12,000 Jobs

Tesla’s 2,500-acre manufacturing center in Austin, Texas, tripled its workforce last year, according to the company’s annual compliance report filed with county officials. Bloomberg first reported on the news.

The report filed with the Travis County Economic Development Program shows that Tesla increased its Austin workforce from just 3,523 contingent and permanent employees in 2021 to 12,277 by the end of 2022. Bloomberg reports that a little more than half of Tesla workers reside in the county, with the average full-time employee earning a salary of at least $47,147. Outside of the Tesla factory, the average worker’s salary in Austin is $68,060, according to ZipRecruiter data.

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fr.techtribune.net was unable to acquire a copy of the report, so it is not clear if these workers are all full-time. If so, Tesla has hired far more full-time employees than planned. According to accord between Tesla and Travis County, the company is obligated to create 5,001 new full-time jobs over the next four years.

The contract also stipulates that Tesla is to invest approximately $1.1 billion in the county over the next five years. Tesla’s compliance report shows that the automaker last year invested $5.81 billion in Gigafactory Texas, which was officially launched a year ago at a “Cyber ​​Rodeo” event. In January, Tesla informed regulators that it planned to invest an additional $770 million in a factory expansion to include a battery cell test site and a cathode and power unit manufacturing site. coaching. With this investment will come more jobs.

Tesla’s choice to move its headquarters to Texas and build a gigafactory there has helped the state lead the country in job growth. The automaker is building its Model Y crossover there and also plans to build its Cybertruck in Texas. Giga Texas will also be a model of sustainable manufacturing, CEO Elon Musk said. Last year, Tesla completed the first phase of what will become “the world’s largest rooftop solar installation,” according to the report, per Bloomberg. Tesla has started the second phase of installation, but there are already reports that it is able to see the roof from space. The goal is to generate 27 megawatts of electricity.

Musk also promised to turn the site into an “eco-paradise”, complete with a boardwalk and a hiking/biking trail that will be open to the public. There haven’t been many updates on that front, and locals fear the site is actually more of a environmental nightmare which has led to noise and water pollution. The site, located at the intersection of State Highway 130 and Harold Green Road, east of Austin, borders the Colorado River and could create a climate catastrophe if the river overflows.

Tesla’s gigafactory site has also historically been home to low-income households and has a large population of Spanish-speaking residents. It is unclear whether the jobs at the plant reflect the demographics of the community in which it resides.