Trouble in Ecological Paradise | The Austin Chronicle

Around the current Gigafactory and still-under-construction Boring Co., Musk's properties are always expanding. There are plans for 110 homes for workers on FM 1209 – nicknamed Project Awesome – with a liquor license for a bistro already obtained. 

This growth has sparked environmental advocates' concerns that Tesla will set precedent for further development to encroach upon the fragile ecosystems on the river's edge. 

One organization has been successful in opening lines of communication with Tesla – TOCA, or Tesla Outreach Community Alliance, a coalition of community groups including the NAACP, Hornsby Bend Alliance, Del Valle Community Coalition, and PODER. They've had regular meetings with Tesla since June of last year, when they sent a letter to Musk requesting dialogue with the local community. 

In it, they set a few environmental expectations: for Tesla to 

• improve protection of water quality, 
• ensure air quality is not degraded; 
• develop an ecological conservation and restoration plan for Tesla's riverfront property, including plans for a community park; and 
• enhance measures to mitigate flood risk for downstream communities. 
• So far, they haven't seen much tangible progress on any of these goals – despite Musk's "paradise" goals.

How Much of the Colorado Should We Leave Up to Elon Musk’s Discretion?

Tesla uses a massive amount of water while the Boring Co. attempts to dump its wastewater into the river

BY LINA FISHER, FRI., AUG. 11, 2023

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Art by Zeke Barbaro (Photos by John Anderson / Getty Images)

Three years ago, Travis County cut a deal with Tesla, selling it a 2,000-acre site on the banks of the Colorado River in Southeastern Travis County – and a 70% rebate on its property taxes. The mammoth $1.1 billion Gigafactory that ensued now produces a quarter million Model Ys annually, and Elon Musk has promised to build a publicly accessible "ecological paradise" around the factory. But Musk has, in some ways, already proven untrustworthy. As part of the deal, Tesla was to create at least 5,000 new full-time jobs by 2024 – at least half going to Travis County residents. But immediately, there were concerns from the Workers Defense Project about the lack of third-party monitoring in the deal – and sure enough, accusations of wage theft and unsafe conditions at the factory followed last December.

“I’m not anti-growth, I’m not anti-Elon, but I am concerned about the water and about the people working here and living around it.”  – Chap Ambrose, Keep Bastrop Boring

As to whether Musk is creating "paradise" along the Colorado, the little publicly available information doesn't bode well. 

• Travis County commissioners who struck the deal with Tesla aren't sure exactly how much water the factory is using or will use, despite repeated requests for information.
•  And an international parallel raises concern. In March 2022, Tesla opened another Gigafactory in the coal mining state of Brandenburg, Germany, called Giga Berlin, which would produce half a million vehicles annually. 
• Immediately, there were concerns from environmental advocates that the drought-stricken area's groundwater supply wouldn't be enough for both the cars and the people living there.
•  In a research note upon the factory's opening, Deutsche Bank auto sector analysts wrote that "the company may completely exhaust the water reserve in the region with the first stage of the plant build out, and will need additional extraction permits in order to expand its capacity any further in the future." 
• Musk literally laughed off the notion of Tesla having an effect on the water supply, but experts' estimates that the factory would almost double the amount of water consumed in the area, plus subsequent legal challenges, caused a delay in the plant's opening.

German and Texan politicians alike have supported Musk's operations moving in, as they're big job creators. 

• But at the breakneck speed he builds, will there be any water left for the rest of us? 
• And are his contributions to the electric vehicle industry enough to offset his local ecological footprint?

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