Even though the Berlin factory is still not ready, Tesla is ready to throw in more funds to build a new factory in the States. According to Electrek, Musk has chosen Austin, Texas as the location for Tesla’s next factory.

Elon Musk was vocal in expressing his despair and threatened that Tesla will move its headquarters from California to Texas or Nevada due to California’s response to COVID-19 and not allowing the Fremont factory to open.

Things got out of hand pretty quickly and even kind of required the President’s intervention to mellow the situation down. Now, we aren’t sure if both these things are connected, but they might as well be. However, the question is, will the Cybertruck be built here?

How Can The Factory Be Set Up By The End Of The Year?

According to the publication, a source familiar with the matter told that Tesla has chosen Austin, Texas as the location for its next factory. People familiar with the project also revealed that Musk has assigned a team of engineers working at the Gigafactory Nevada to process the new factory. He wants the factory to be up and running soon and aims at rolling out Model Ys by the end of the year.

This is way quicker than the Shanghai factory, which took a year to build. However, Tesla will look to have the assembly line in place by the end of 2020 and would keep building the factory to increase production capacity. By the end of next year, the factory will start producing the Cybertruck as well.

Is This Move A Result Of The Rift Between Tesla And California?

Although it looked like things were settled between the California state and Tesla, things are not that hunky-dory. According to Reuters, SpaceX had requested $655,500 in state job and training funds, but this was turned down by California’s Employment Training Panel due to Musk’s tweets about Alameda County and the threats of moving to Texas or Nevada. Does this animosity have anything to do with Musk’s urgency to set up a new factory outside California?

Tesla Is Flush With Cash At This Point

Funds are not a problem for Tesla, but is this a wise move in terms of finances? The factory that is being built in Berlin is estimated to cost more than $4 billion. The automaker still has over $8 billion in the bank, courtesy of a fairly successful last quarter despite the pandemic outbreak and a surging price on the stock offering.

As for the decision to choose the Lone Star state, Tesla is not new to Texas and already has an office in Austin. The company had recruited a bunch of chip engineers for its Autopilot 3.0 from AMD’s corporate offices in Austin. The same folks, now Autopilot Hardware Engineers, work from the office there.

Final Thoughts

To recap the whole thing, Tesla will start construction for a new factory in or around Austin, Texas, and will start building Model Y once the assembly line is ready. It will keep building the factory around this over time and will perhaps start building the Cybertruck by late next year.

Whether this is a wise move or not, only time will tell. At a time when companies are trying to maintain as much cash liquidity as possible, Tesla will spend billions on a new factory. Talk about unusual ways to counter a slump.

Do you think this urgency has to do anything with the tiff between Tesla and the State of California? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.