Tesla inaugurates Texas manufacturing plant the size of 100 football fields. in pictures

Online discussion has intensified since a tweet by Tesla’s colorful but controversial founder and chief executive Elon Musk, with reports of perhaps 15,000 guests attending the official plant opening in the state capital Austin.

The doors of the Caverns Factory, which opened to guests later in the afternoon, started doing the rounds on Twitter, with photos and videos of the plant decorated in a typical nightclub look.

Visitors mingled under red and blue lights, while production machinery and Tesla models were displayed like museum artwork. Outside, cars were parked in a Texas flag pattern.

Bulldozers were still operating near the so-called “Gigafactory”, indicating that New York City’s famous Empire State Building was built with more steel than it was.

– Farewell Silicon Valley –

The move to a US state known for conservative Republican politics is seen by some as Musk moving away from the liberal Silicon Valley culture in which he made his fortune.

The South African born serial entrepreneur is now ranked as the richest man in the world. He founded Tesla in Silicon Valley in 2003, but moved its headquarters to Texas at the end of last year.

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Musk has clashed with California regulators, especially after health precautions at the height of the pandemic forced the closure of Tesla’s Fremont plant.

Part of the Texas charm is the lack of corporate or personal income taxes. Tesla received more than $60 million in tax breaks to build the factory, which is expected to employ 10,000 people over time.