Tesla had been considering locations across eight states in the first half of 2020. By May 2020 a selection process was underway by Tesla, with the most likely locations being those in the vicinity of Austin or Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tesla selected Austin as the site of its next U.S. factory, which it aims to have up and running by the end of 2021. statue in Tulsa as Elon Musk of Tesla, during bidding process in May 2020 Tesla had been considering locations across eight states in the central United States during 2019‒2020. Community groups and government officials in several areas of the US expressed interest in potentially hosting what was expected to be a very large Tesla Gigafactory manufacturing facility, some expressing interest in facilitating land procurement, getting over the regulatory obstacles, and considering potential tax incentives. Some used social media marketing aiming to reach Elon Musk directly. The short list included Austin, Nashville, Tennessee and Tulsa. In March 2020, Tulsa undertook a direct marketing effort, openly offering a plot to Tesla, Inc. under the name "Big Fucking Field", including a series of fake celebrity endorsements claiming to be from Ludacris, and Joe Rogan. Two locations in the vicinity of Tulsa had been viewed by Tesla by mid-May. The campaign was distributed by G. T. Bynum, the mayor of Tulsa. In May 2020 Bynum discussed the suitability of "Green Country" and distributed a photomontage of the Cybertruck in Tulsa Police Department livery, with a suggestion of local purchasing, if the Gigafactory were to be situated near Tulsa. On May 20, 2020, wrap advertising was applied to the Golden Driller statue located at the Tulsa Expo Center to create a caricature of Elon Musk, with the word "Tulsa" on statue's belt buckle replaced by the "Tesla" name.
Austin
In 2014, Tesla Motors had previously evaluated a manufacturing site on U.S. Route 79 at Frame Switch, located between the towns of Hutto and Taylor, north-east of the Greater Austin center. . During 2014 Tesla Motors subsequently chose to construct Giga Nevada in Nevada. By June of 2020, the proposed location near Austin was a site bordering Harold Green Road and Texas State Highway 130. On June 16, 2020 the Commissioners' court of Travis County was scheduled to discuss a possible incentives package for Tesla. In July 2020, the Del Valle Independent School District approved a tax incentives package worth $68 million, should the Tesla Gigafactory be built. . During a 2Q2020 earnings call on 22 July 2020, Tesla announced that Austin, Texas had been selected for Gigafactory 5.
