Miscommunication results in preemptive renaming of Harold Green Road to Tesla Road next to Giga Texas

Travis Country residents driving past Giga Texas have noticed new signage go up along Texas State Highway 130 in recent weeks.

Since at least mid-November, signs for Exit 446, which used say Harold Green Road, have been changed to Tesla Road.

Google Maps has even been updated to show the new name.

Screenshot taken Dec 16 2021

It is no surprise to see the renaming, Tesla is of course spending more than $1 billion to build the massive factory that is clearly visible from the highway.

There is just one problem – Travis County hasn’t officially renamed Harold Green Road to Tesla Road. In fact, they don’t even know if it will be, or if it is, what it will be renamed to.

According to a report by the Austin American-Statesman, Tesla has submitted a request to Travis County Commissioners to have the name changed.

The commissioners will hold a public hearing on the matter on December 21, at which time it is expected they will also negotiate with Tesla on making improvements on another nearby road.

Since it is still up in the air, the commissioners declined to comment on what the potential new road name might be.

So how did the new road signs go up before this is all official? Apparently it was a “miscommunication” between the Texas Department of Transportation and Travis County.

“TxDOT, Travis County and Tesla have been in constant communication about infrastructure during construction of the factory off of Harold Green Road. As the result of a miscommunication, the Tesla Road signs were placed on SH 130 before the county officially signed off. TxDOT will await direction from the county regarding the signage and name change,” said Brad Wheelis, TxDOT public information officer.

The new signs have become a bit of a tourist attraction, even catching the attention of Omead Afshar, the Project Director for the Office of the CEO at Tesla.