Tesla Giga Texas Expansion Project for ‘Ecological Paradise’ Gains Approval

become a popular target since early last year, thanks in part to the Kia Boyz social media trend.

Instead of using phone chargers to start the cars in the middle of the night, a trick which works for some models, these thieves were a little more sophisticated. They used stolen or forged ID cards to take the vehicles on test drives, then stole them.

According to a local report, the suspects not only were stealing cars, they set up a nice forgery ring. Police found they were pumping out fake checks, temporary license plates, insurance cards and IDs.

Police from a few different jurisdictions worked to track down the suspects. Thanks to the work of investigators, two were taken into custody and indicted on more than 50 felony counts this summer.

As they’ve dug into this group’s activity, more evidence has led to a staggering number of felony charges brought against other suspects.

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Tesla Giga Texas Expansion Project for ‘Ecological Paradise’ Gains Approval

By Joey Klender

Teslarati

Tesla’s Giga Texas expansion project, which will make way for an “ecological paradise” open to the public just outside the automotive production facility, has been approved by the City of Austin.

On Sept. 21, it was reported Tesla was planning to revise its original application for Giga Texas, showing a proposed expansion of the site. The Limits of Construction (LOC) in both acreage and square footage had increased by 12 acres and 500,000 square feet, as shown in documents seen by Teslarati. Acreage increased from 268 to 280, while square footage expanded from 11.7 million to 12.2 million.

Documents did not outline what the expansion would be used for, but as Giga Texas is expected to build hundreds of thousands of vehicles per year, Teslarati speculated it could be to increase production output in the coming years. However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told Teslarati the expansion was filed to make way for the “ecological paradise” the automaker planned to build onsite, which will essentially act as a public park.

Musk also said while Tesla did file to expand Giga Texas, the project won’t begin immediately. Instead, Giga Texas needs to be financially “on its feet,” as Musk said earlier this year that both this factory and Giga Berlin, the other site Tesla gained operational approval for this year, were “gigantic money furnaces.”

Musk said in 2020, when Tesla announced it would build its newest factory in Texas just outside Austin, the plant would have an “ecological paradise” that would feature a boardwalk and other activities to highlight the areas surrounding the factory. Musk reiterated to Teslarati this is still the plan, as well as a path that would allow visitors to walk, bike or kayak to downtown Austin.

Musk also said Tesla could develop an electric boat for the Colorado River, which would be available to visitors for potential travel into the city.

Tesla can move forward with the project whenever as of now, as the City of Austin approved the project just eight days after Tesla initially filed it. The proposed application was examined and passed all relevant processes, including a mapping review, addressing review, environmental assessment and drainage plan, among several others. The overall site plan review was completed Sept. 28.

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more vehicles. They give us volume and we give them a break; it happens in all types of industries. If the prevailing rate is $62, for example, and I say I can do it for $58—that is a business decision.

Why does that mean I cannot pay a technician, estimator or GM a really good income? Why does that mean I cannot repair a car correctly? Explain it to me. I am at a loss.

If I say I can eat sandpaper and some products as the cost of doing business, and then bill for the products that are not, I feel it is a win. If a DRP says there is a paint cap, but I can prove that there was a significant difference and the cost was more via an invoice, how is that a loss? All the carriers want is a level playing field, with full transparency, and I say give it to them.

Example: I need sales at $400,000 monthly to sustain the company— meaning equipment upgrades, quality materials, etc.—and pay everybody well and above industry. So, if that costs $350,000 to do and the location profits $50,000, how is that bad?

I have seen greed in some owners that is the destroyer of their business. To sustain your business for the long haul you must pay well, upgrade with the times and offer great benefits, recognition programs and good bonus programs.

Do they truly believe that carriers do not want to indemnify their insured? I completely disagree. I think most of all the carriers out there want to retain their customers and want to pay what is the right amount for the vehicle. Nothing more and nothing less.

I often hear all around the industry that the DRPs want you to repair the car using a series of shortcuts, not do it correctly, cutting corners and so on. In my 40 years in this industry, I have never had a carrier ask me to do anything like that. Not one!

I have had quite a few of the carriers ask me why we need to do something, and we always explain everything in full detail with all of the supporting documentation. We are a VeriFacts company as well, so we definitely repair everything correctly.

Have we had a carrier ever ask us for a discounted labor rate? Yes. Have we ever had carriers ask to reduce a labor time? Yes. However, we have never been asked to short a repair, nor have we ever been asked to repair something that is not repairable. Not once. If we did, we would absolutely say no, of course.

We would certainly always be the first to whistle blow if we were ever asked this. So, it is my belief that as a business owner, it is up to me to guarantee that we do the right things and ensure quality OE repairs on each and every job.

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Q: Do you ever have to wrestle with an insurance company about the cost of parts, labor rates, etc., and if so, how do you deal with it?

A: The carriers I work with, both DRP and non-DRP, have been great. Do they ask us for concessions from time to time? Yes. Do we give it all the time? No. It depends on what it is.

All my DRP rates are in stone so the only time I am asked for labor rate concession is form the adjusted work we do. If our door is $62 and they ask for $60, we will give that to them in most cases. If they try and chop repair time, we argue, as we feel we are the experts.

We are not asked for labor time cuts often. But when we have been, we look at it and say, well what we wrote is fair, right and reasonable. We will not concede. We rarely get pushback.

Parts are interesting; we will not install a used quarter panel, period. We will not use substandard used or aftermarket parts either. If we are asked to do this, we immediately explain why this should not be done. aately I have seen more understanding and giving us what we need than not. Everybody knows the impact of a substandard repair.

Q: Are DRPs attracted to working with you because you have a reputation for making it work to where both parties are satisfied?

A: I would say they want to work with us because we perform, we repair cars correctly, we communicate and we are not confrontational. We are kind in our business practices. We bring our partners in for training and allow then to use our locations as training facilities for their teams.

We have seen a large interest in this. We recently conducted scanning and calibration classes for a large carrier. We brought in the vendor we work with and did an on-site scan and calibration, had a wonderful PowerPoint presentation. Everyone left feeling empowered.

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