Tesla’s big gigafactory near Austin, Texas won’t have to follow local environmental rules anymore because of a new law.
The gigafactory covers a huge area outside Austin, with its electric vehicle factory. It’s not right in the city, but it used to follow some of the city’s rules because of something called “extraterritorial jurisdiction.”
But in February, Tesla asked to be exempt from Austin’s rules, and in March, the city said okay.
This change happened because of a new state law that started last September. It lets landowners ask to be free from city rules so they can develop their land more easily.
Some cities don’t like this law. They worry it will make it hard to protect people’s health and safety. But cities can’t really say no to landowners under this law.
Now, Tesla doesn’t have to follow Austin’s environmental rules as it expands its gigafactory. This could be a problem for locals, says the city. They might face issues like flooding or water pollution.
Tesla didn’t say anything about this when asked.
Before the gigafactory opened in 2022, Elon Musk said it would be good for nature. He talked about walking trails along the nearby river.
But Musk’s companies have had problems with the environment before. In February, Tesla settled a lawsuit about how they handle dangerous waste in California. And the Boring Company, another one of Musk’s companies, got in trouble for letting dirty water go into the river.