Tesla is facing increasing pressure and opposition from the community and environmental groups over a planned 15,000 person party at Giga Texas on April 7.
The party is part of the grand opening of Tesla’s newest US-based Gigafactory near Austin, Texas.
Paul DiFiore, a representative of the Colorado River Conservancy and the Austin-based environmental-justice group PODER is concerned about noise, blocked roads, dust from construction and water pollution.
“This grand opening is not a substitute for real community engagement. I urge you to consider rejecting this permit and forcing Tesla to delay their celebration until they start treating the community in Eastern Travis County as more than a workforce for Elon Musk but rather as neighbors and partners,” DiFiore said. (via Bloomberg)
The automaker opened their fourth Gigafactory yesterday outside of Berlin in Germany.
Tesla plans to offer tours of the facility, food and live music at the invite-only event at Gigafactory Texas.
These same groups do not wish Tesla to open the facility, so it is not a surprise they put up some opposition.
Travis County officials granted approval on Tuesday for the party unanimously after hearing complaints and concerns from the community.
As of right now, the April 7 grand opening of Tesla’s Giga Texas is still going ahead. We do not anticipate this changing over the next few weeks.
