Did Tesla start building a $10B solar factory near Houston?

No. As of November 9, 2026, Project Crystal Sun is a proposed Fort Bend County plant backed by tax-incentive filings and local approvals. Construction has not been shown to have started, and Tesla is still weighing an out-of-state alternative.

Is the factory in Houston?

Not inside Houston. The proposed site is in Fort Bend County near Richmond along FM 762 and FM 1994, southwest of the Houston metro area.

Are the $6.4 billion tax and $107 billion GDP numbers official?

They appear in Tesla's JETI economic-benefit statement prepared by consultant Kroll as multi-decade projections. They are not guaranteed outcomes and should be labeled as applicant estimates.

When would production start if Fort Bend wins?

Tesla's filing targets commercial operations in Q1 2029, with construction spanning 2026–2028. County agreements allow production as late as the end of 2030 before certain defaults trigger.

Does this change which EV I should buy?

Not by itself. Buy the car that fits your budget, range, and charging setup. Rankings and cost tools matter more for that decision than a Texas solar fab that is still on paper: see EVHQ rankings and Which EV should I buy?.

EV News · EV Investing · Tesla

Tesla's $10.1B Texas Solar Factory Filing: What's Real, What's Estimated, and What It Means

EVHQ (Dan)Nov 9, 2026 · 6 min read

Glass and cyan editorial cover of an abstract vertically integrated solar manufacturing campus

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