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Tesla’s TX plans opposed by Travis County GOP official: ‘Texans need to stand up to Musk’
Tesla’s plans for its Cybertruck Gigafactory in Travis County, Texas have received some strong opposition from Matt Mackowiak, the chairman of the Travis County GOP. In a scathing op-ed posted on The Statesman, Mackowiak urged Texas to “stand up to Musk” citing the CEO’s reputation, SpaceX’s ongoing activities in the state, and the challenges faced by Gigafactory New York.
Mackowiak warned that Elon Musk has a “spotty” history of seeking subsides, and he voiced his stern opposition to the idea of Texas giving Tesla generous incentive packages. These include $68 million on Tesla’s property tax bill over 10 years and Travis County’s additional $14.65 million in property tax rebates over 10 years. The GOP official argued that New York, which hosted Tesla’s Gigafactory 2 facility, has struggled to bring the economic impact it was intended to bring to the area as well.
“After spending nearly $900 million on the new factory, a recent audit found that the plant’s value lays around $75 million. The factory found more controversy as it struggled to prove that it had met the site’s hiring criteria. Even worse, the factory is struggling to bring the economic impact it promised to justify the high-priced deal for the state’s taxpayers. The Lone Star State could be looking at millions of dollars in public funds directed away from roads and other local needs to help a company that seems content to abandon its pledges and go wherever the incentives take them,” Mackowiak wrote.
Mackowiak also argued that SpaceX’s activities in Texas have not been good for the state, since the company has been “spending years causing headaches for the people of South Texas.” The official listed a number of grievances against SpaceX, such as road closures and noise disturbances, which Mackowiak argued disrupted the “once peaceful village of Boca Chica.” In conclusion, the GOP official urged Texans to “stand up to Musk and tell him there will be no corporate subsidies.”
Unfortunately for the vocal Mackowiak, other Texas officials appear to be very welcoming of Tesla. Amidst the company’s troubles with Alameda County last month, Tesla and Elon Musk received open letters of support from Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez, Governor Greg Abbott, Dallas, TX Mayor Eric Johnson, all of whom invited the electric car maker to set up shop in the Lone Star State. Governor Abbott, for one, specifically emphasized Tesla’s potential tax savings if it moves its headquarters to Texas.
As for Gigafactory New York, the facility has seen a relatively slow ramp due to the company’s focus on its electric vehicle business, particularly during the Model 3 ramp. However, the facility is ramping now, particularly as Tesla is now looking to expand the reach of its Energy business with its flagship Solarglass Roof V3 tiles. Supercharger V3 stalls, which are also built in Gigafactory New York, are being ramped worldwide as well. This suggests that Tesla’s Buffalo, New York facility will only get even busier in the near future, and it won’t be long before its positive economic impact to the area is felt.
It should also be noted that other states are willing and ready to welcome Tesla and its upcoming Cybertruck Gigafactory. Apart from Texas, Tulsa, Oklahoma is speculated to be shortlisted for the site of the electric pickup’s production plant. Other states such as North Carolina have also expressed interest in hosting the electric car maker’s next US-based manufacturing facility.
News
Tesla Semi frames stack up in Nevada as production nears
Tesla Semi frames are being spotted outside of the Nevada production facility ahead of initial high-volume manufacturing.

Tesla is moving closer to the initial production of the Semi later this year, and outside of its dedicated factory in Nevada, which will be responsible for building the all-electric truck, frames, and other parts of the vehicle, are beginning to stack up.
The Semi production facility is located on the same property as Gigafactory Nevada, and is moving closer to completion as the construction crews on site have already enclosed walls.
Semi Factory progress update pic.twitter.com/OQ1oXvnjev
— Tesla Semi (@tesla_semi) April 28, 2025
Now, production is moving even closer as parts of the Semi were spotted outside of the Semi production facility in Nevada. The images were captured by Zanegler, a Tesla Semi enthusiast and Giga Nevada tracker:
Assemble these parts and you have the beginning of a Tesla semi. pic.twitter.com/ygCBUjWcJ3
— Zanegler (@HinrichsZane) May 26, 2025
The Semi is already used by a handful of companies, including U.S. Foods, Frito-Lay, and PepsiCo. However, the vehicle is not up for public use quite yet, as Tesla is working with various companies to carry out pilot testing of the Semi to see how it performs during regional runs.
Tesla Semi fleet from Frito-Lay gets more charging at Bakersfield factory
The results have been very encouraging, with the Semi even completing a 1,000-mile run in a single day two years ago.
Now, Tesla is truly focusing on the launch of the factory, which will put production into full swing moving into 2026. Earlier this year, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, gave an update on the Semi and the company’s current timeline for the product:
“So, we just closed out the Semi factory roof of walls last week in Reno, a schedule, which is great with the weather. In Reno, you never know what’s going to happen. But we’re prepping for mechanical installation of all the equipment in the coming months.
The first builds of the high volumes in design come late this year in 2025 and begin ramping early in 2026. But as we’ve said before, the Semi is a TCO, no-brainer. I think it’s really similar to Optimus. It’s going to be set by how much people pay and it has the total cost of ownership, it’s much, much cheaper than any other transportation you could have.”
Tesla also started ordering parts for the Semi and Cybercab after the tariff situation between the U.S. and China was alleviated.
News
Tesla teases new color while testing refreshed Model S, X
Tesla teased a new color that could be coming to the United States with the new Model S and Model X.

Tesla appears to be teasing a brand new color while it was testing the refreshed Model S and Model X, which was spotted last week in California.
Tesla currently offers six paint options in the United States, but they are all pretty basic. This has not been a problem for owners as wrapping the vehicles is a common practice, but some people would likely see more versatility from Tesla in terms of their standard paint colors.
This is especially relevant as Europe has been able to have both Midnight Cherry Red and Quicksilver, which were, at one time, exclusive to the market.
Quicksilver made its way to the United States, and Tesla did release a new Red last year with “Ultra Red,” but Midnight Cherry Red never made its way outside the walls of Gigafactory Berlin.
Last week, as the first spy images of the new Model S and Model X were taken and released by The Kilowatts, there was a very noticeable difference with the vehicle, as other changes seemed to be relatively underwhelming: a new paint color.
New factory blue, coming soon to a Model X near you pic.twitter.com/3CuN4j1ipq
— The Kilowatts 🚗⚡️ (@klwtts) May 22, 2025
Many believed this was simply a wrap, but Ryan Levenson of The Kilowatts, a former Tesla employee, dispelled that rumor after several questions about it.
He said that this is absolutely a factory paint color and not a wrap:
New color too! If you know what you’re looking for you know that this is factory paint and not a wrap. pic.twitter.com/jBYrimZIQT
— The Kilowatts 🚗⚡️ (@klwtts) May 22, 2025
More images were shared by @supergeek18 on X:
New paint color for Model S/X 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Pb27JruhXs
— Henry (@supergeek18) May 24, 2025
Tesla released a new color earlier this year, but it was just a revision to Black, now called “Diamond Black,” featuring speckles that give a reflection and refraction of light as a diamond would.
However, this new color is certainly quite different than anything Tesla has previously offered in the U.S. before. It is relatively similar to Glacier Blue, a color Tesla launched in Asia. Earlier this year, Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s Chief Designer, talked about bringing the color to the U.S.:
“Glacier Blue is just a color that we’ve been talking about with our team — the team is like right through that window by the way — and we were looking at the impact of silver, how do we get pigment into silver and really add a little bit of personality to it. If you look at our palette, you know it was either darks or white, and so we were looking for something in between. Blue is always a fairly popular color.”
It would be a refreshing addition to the options Tesla currently offers, and a breath of fresh air for those who have been wanting a different look altogether.
Elon Musk
Mark Cuban wants to sell his Tesla due to this polarizing feature
Mark Cuban said this simple Tesla feature will eventually lead to him selling the car.

Known Elon Musk critic Mark Cuban is ready to sell his Tesla because of a simple feature that is one of the more polarizing amongst community members.
Cuban and Musk have gone head-to-head in several back-and-forths on X, Musk’s social media platform, formerly Twitter. However, it is not the public spats that the two have shared that makes Cuban want to sell his car. In fact, it is something relatively trivial and a feature that many could easily adjust to in the matter of a few minutes of driving.
For the entrepreneur and former owner of the Dallas Mavericks, it is a feature that every driver must use, but Tesla temporarily changed it in the Model 3, Model S, and Model X: the turn signal.
With the refreshed versions of the S, 3, and X, Tesla chose to eliminate the turn signal stalk, instead opting for a turn signal button, which is located on the steering wheel. This was a change that was extremely polarizing among the Tesla community, with many requesting that the company reverse the change with the new Model Y.

Credit: Tesla
They listened, and the newest version of the all-electric crossover has a stalk. No turn signal haptics are available on the new Model Y.
This is one feature Cuban said he cannot get into, and instead chooses to drive his Kia EV6, which he said he is “comfortable with.”
On the Your Mom’s House podcast, Cuban commented on the stalk and turn signal button dilemma within the vehicle:
“On the Tesla, you’ve got to find [the turn signal] and push the button…while you’re driving. You can’t pay attention to the road as much. [The Kia] doesn’t try to be too fancy. Your turn signal is like, a turn signal.”
It’s hard to imagine that someone’s attention is taken away from the road when pushing a button. In my test drive of the new Model 3 last year, I noted that the button was definitely an adjustment, but it only took a few minutes to adjust to:
“It only took me about three or four turns, or roughly ten minutes, to realize I needed to stop reaching for stalks. I feel like the buttons are super convenient, but there were times I would push the edges or corners, and the signal would not come on.”
At least to me, it’s not super believable that pushing a turn signal button takes your attention away from the road for more than a split second. Do I like the traditional stalk more? Yes. However, it would not make me sell a car I really enjoyed driving.
Cuban also said that his son called the EV6 “a nerd car,” to which he replied, “Exactly.”
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