Perhaps no single company has made more impact on the economy of Texas than Tesla, headed by Elon Musk. Tesla now ranks as the second largest employer in central Texas.
Growth at the EV manufacturer is likely to continue. At a recent conference and expo hosted by the Austin Regional Manufacturers Association, director of manufacturing at Tesla’s gigafactory, Jason Shawhan, said the company expects employment to triple from current levels to near 60,000, when production of its long-awaited Cybertruck finally ramps up.
Although it was not until December 2021 that Tesla officially made Texas its U.S. headquarters, construction on the gigafactory began in July 2020. Tesla rolled EV number five million off the line in September.
Vertical integration is part of the Tesla production strategy. The gigafactory’s 10-million-square-foot production floor space allows the company to build…
