AUSTIN, Texas (CBS / AP) – Tesla has officially moved its headquarters from Silicon Valley to a large factory under construction outside of Austin, Texas.
The company announced on Wednesday in a filing with the US securities regulators. CEO Elon Musk had said at the company’s annual meeting in October that the change was imminent.
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The documents state that Palo Alto moved to what Tesla calls a “Gigafactory” “Gigafactory” on Harold Green Road near Austin on Wednesday.
In US approval applications late last year, Tesla stated that it had around 71,000 employees worldwide. According to the company’s press releases in 2020, around 10,000 will work at its headquarters in Palo Alto and 10,000 at its Fremont facility.
It was not clear whether all employees at headquarters would have to move. A message was left on Wednesday by Tesla, which has disbanded its media division.
During the October annual meeting, Musk insisted that moving the headquarters doesn’t mean the automaker is leaving the Golden State. “But to be clear: We will continue to expand our activities in California. It’s not about Tesla leaving California, ”he said.
The CEO said the company will continue to ramp up production at its huge Fremont factory, but acknowledged that there are limits to expanding auto production at its Silicon Valley facility.
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“We only hit the sides of the bowl. If you go to our factory in Fremont it will be clogged, ”he said.
Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said in October that he expects some of the 10,000 employees in Palo Alto not to want to leave the Bay Area, but a large number will because of Austin’s lower cost of living. He said he believes Tesla will give many the option to stay, but expects 40 to 50% to make the switch.
“We believe future tax incentives will be massive when you compare taxes to California,” said Ives. “It’s a lot cheaper and easier to get employees in Texas.”
CEO Elon Musk suggested taking a step since a dispute with Alameda County health officials over reopening the Fremont factory last year at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Musk said he moved from California to Texas, where there is no state income tax.
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