Tesla receives tax break for proposed battery factory near Houston

Waller County has approved a tax abatement agreement with Tesla for its proposed 1,500-employee battery factory in Brookshire, a town west of Houston. The factory will be located approximately 40 miles outside of Houston on a more than 1 million-square foot tract of land. The location is now occupied by a company contracted with Tesla, and the lot is set to be vacated before the manufacturing facility is built.

The facility will produce large-scale industrial batteries called Tesla Megapacks that are used to store energy from renewable sources like wind and solar power. The tax break will potentially provide the electric vehicle company with a 60% tax abatement for 10 years as long as Tesla meets the agreed-upon terms. According to the tax abatement agreement, Tesla must employ at least 1,500 people by 2028.



The company, owned by technology mogul Elon Musk, must also have a minimum of $75 million in taxable inventory by year one of the agreement — Jan. 1, 2026. This minimum will increase to $300 million by the end of year three.

RELATED: Elon Musk’s head is in DC. The beating heart of his business empire is in Texas — and it’s growing Empire West will be the developer of the project and is also included in the abatement agreement. The improvements to the proposed manufacturing facility are expected to cost $44 million, while the installation of manufacturing equipment will cost an estimated $150 million, according to the agreement.

During the Waller County Commissioners Court meeting Wednesday, Tesla representative Shiv Mysore spoke about the project. "We are super excited about this opportunity — 1,500 advanced manufacturing jobs in the county and in the city," he said. "We're going to be here operating as Tesla, bringing advanced manufacturing into this community.

" Waller County Precinct 4 Commissioner Justin Beckendorff spoke in support of the project and said it will provide locals with high-paying job opportunities previously unavailable without a lengthy commute into Houston. "There's going to be about 150 jobs that are well over $100,000 and over 50 jobs that are going to be close to $150,000 a year, and that gives good-paying jobs right here in Waller County," he said. "So you don't have to drive into Houston or the surrounding area to have a good income.

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