Tesla’s ecological paradise near Giga Texas moves forward with detailed plans submitted to Travis County.

Tesla’s sprawling outdoor space, long teased by CEO Elon Musk, will have walking and biking trails, a riverfront boardwalk, fishing areas, a playground, and an orchard. According to the Travis County report obtained by Bloomberg, Tesla’s ecological paradise near Giga Texas will also have a sports complex with tennis courts, a baseball field, and a soccer pitch.

As per the Travis County submission, Tesla’s riverfront eco-park is estimated to benefit roughly 20,000 households in the area, weaving Tesla’s presence deeper into the local community. Tesla’s $5 billion-plus investment in Gigafactory Texas has already outpaced job creation goals, employing 21,191 workers in 2024—about half of whom call the county home.

However, not everyone is sold on Tesla’s vision for its ecological paradise. Austin environmental advocate Paul DiFiore, who reviewed earlier 2022 drafts, noted a shift in focus.

“The expectation of significant acreage of restoration or ‘ecological uplift’ at various places on the property appears to be gone, in favor of recreation opportunities along the riverfront, which provide far less conservation value. And with basically no community input or engagement along the way,” DiFiore said

Despite the critique, Tesla’s eco-park underscores its efforts toward community-focused projects. The initiative could set a new benchmark for corporate-backed public spaces as Giga Texas expands, even as it navigates local skepticism.

The City of Austin approved Tesla’s ecological paradise for Giga Texas in October 2022. At the time, Musk noted that work on Tesla’s eco-park would not start until Giga Texas was financially “on its feet.”

Tesla battery supplier LG Energy Solution reports a 138% rise in Q1 operating profits, buoyed by tax credits. The South Korean firm estimated an operating profit of 374.7 billion won ($255 million) for January to March, up from 157.3 billion won ($107 million) a year ago. The figure trounces the LSEG SmartEstimate average of 29 billion won, reflecting a strong quarter.

However, strip away U.S. Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, and LGES flags an operating loss of 83 billion won ($56.52 million). The shortfall underscores a cooling EV market, tempering demand for batteries, reported Reuters. LGES announced the mixed results Monday, highlighting the pivotal role of incentives in its bottom line.

Despite industry headwinds, the 138% profit surge positions LGES ahead of competitors like CATL. With Tesla leaning on LGES for battery supply, the Q1 uptick signals resilience, even as broader EV sales soften globally.

LGES has been a long-time battery supplier to Tesla. In mid-2024, it started prioritizing production for 4680 cell production at its new $5.5 billion plant in Arizona. Since its work with Tesla, LGES has also grown to work with other US-based automakers, like General Motors.

LGES recently announced its plans to acquire General Motors’ (GM) entire stake in the two companies’ joint venture (JV) battery plant for 3 trillion won ($2.043 billion). The JV plant is in Lansing, Michigan, and would have been the third battery facility under the LGES and General Motors battery partnership.

In December 2024, GM announced plans to sell its stake in the Lansing plant to LGES after adjusting its electric vehicle (EV) plans amid a slowdown in sales. LGES and General Motors operate battery plants in Ohio and Tennessee under their Ultium Cells LLC JV. The pair also entered a new partnership to develop prismatic cells last year.

The South Korean company started expanding in the robotics industry late last year. In November 2024, LGES signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with US-based Bear Robotics. Under its agreement, LGES will supply cylindrical battery cells for the robotics company’s flagship robots.

One analyst who has been a long-standing Tesla (TSLA) bull has significantly cut his price target on the company’s stock, citing recent backlash against CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump, though he also notes that his firm remains bullish.

In a note to clients on Sunday, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said that the firm lowered its price target on Tesla’s stock from $550 to $315, maintaining an Outperform rating. The analyst says that the 43-percent cut is the result of a “full-blown brand crisis” that was caused by Musk, and that, combined with the Trump administration’s global tariffs, the two have created the “perfect storm for Tesla.”

“Tesla has essentially become a political symbol globally….and that is a very bad thing for the future of this disruptive tech stalwart and the brand crisis tornado that has now turned into an F5 tornado,” Ives wrote. “We now estimate Tesla has lost/destroyed at least 10 percent of its future customer base globally based on self created brand issues and this could be a conservative estimate. In Europe, this number could be 20 percent or higher….all self-inflicted by Musk.”

READ MORE ON TESLA/WEDBUSH: Tesla bull Wedbush responds to Q1 deliveries: ‘A disaster on every metric’

Ives continues on that the company has “unfortunately become a political symbol because of Musk,” highlighting the global anti-Trump and Musk protests, and vandalism that many have lodged against owners of Tesla’s vehicles in recent months.

He also acknowledged that Tesla would be “less exposed to tariffs than some” that source a higher portion of vehicle components abroad, though the tariffs are still widely expected to disrupt the company. The analyst notes that Tesla’s continued performance in China will remain “the bigger worry,” as tariff backlash could also drive consumers even further toward domestic options such as BYD, Nio, or Xpeng Motors.

Ives also called for Musk to “step up, read the room, and be a leader” during this time, noting that this year could be particularly painful for the stock if he does not “exit stage left or take a step back on DOGE in the coming month.”

also acknowledges certain upcoming bright spots for the stock, including unsupervised Full Self-Driving rolling out this summer and lower-cost models.

“Our long standing bull view of Tesla remains, but there is no denying this is a pivotal moment of truth for Musk to turn things around…or darker days are ahead,” the analyst adds. “We have been one of the biggest supporters of Musk and Tesla over the last decade….but this situation is not sustainable and the brand of Tesla is suffering by the day as a political symbol.

“Musk has been with his back against the wall many times and every time Tesla came out of it and was stronger on the other side…this may be one of his biggest challenges yet to turn around.”

Ives has been a longtime supporter of Musk and Tesla, and he has held one of the highest price targets on the company for the past several months. In January, Ives bumped his Tesla price target from $515 to $550, along with setting a bull-case price target of $650. As for his reasoning, he noted that the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) rollout would likely be fast-tracked by the Trump administration, adding that the firm was confident in 2025 demand.

You can read a longer excerpt from the Sunday note from Ives below.

The bigger worry in our opinion is Tesla’s success in China as this key region is the linchpin to the future success of Tesla. The backlash from Trump tariff policies in China and Musk’s association will be hard to understate and this will further drive Chinese consumers to buy domestic such as BYD, Nio, Xpeng, and others. Tesla has essentially become a political symbol globally….and that is a very bad thing for the future of this disruptive tech stalwart and the brand crisis tornado that has now turned into an F5 tornado. We now estimate Tesla has lost/destroyed at least 10 percent of its future customer base globally based on self created brand issues and this could be a conservative estimate. In Europe, this number could be 20 percent or higher….all self-inflicted by Musk.

Tesla has unfortunately become a political symbol because of Musk and this is a very bad thing for the future of this technology stalwart. With major protests erupting globally at Tesla dealerships, Tesla cars being keyed, and a full brand crisis tornado turning into a life of its own this has cast a dark black cloud over Tesla’s stock. The future is so bright for Tesla with Austin’s unsupervised FSD, lower-cost vehicles, and of course the autonomous and robotics future….but this is a full blown crisis Tesla is navigating now (along with these tariffs), and it is time for Musk to step up, read the room, and be a leader in this time of uncertainty.

For the stock, the demand destruction for Tesla and brand damage is real and has morphed into something much more concerning over the past few months. The 1Q delivery number was a disaster as we discussed last week but this could be a brutal year ahead if Musk does not exit stage left or take a step back on DOGE in the coming month. We are taking a stab at new reduced estimates for 2025/2026 which could be a moving target with the tariffs, retaliatory, and the China wild card.

Our long standing bull view of Tesla remains, but there is no denying this is a pivotal moment of truth for Musk to turn things around…or darker days are ahead. We have been one of the biggest supporters of Musk and Tesla over the last decade….but this situation is not sustainable and the brand of Tesla is suffering by the day as a political symbol. Musk has been with his back against the wall many times and every time Tesla came out of it and was stronger on the other side…this may be one of his biggest challenges yet to turn around.

This Tesla executive is leaving the company after over 12 years