Energy
Tesla spurs land grab at Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, 99% sold out
After several companies followed Tesla’s lead in its initiative to establish a presence at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, the massive 105,000-acre industrial park in Nevada is nearly sold out on its land. Lance Gilman, Principal and Director of TRI, who’s company owns the land at the commercial center noted that almost all of the 165-square-mile area has been sold out, thanks in no small part to progressive firms like California-based Tesla.
Only 250 acres of land from the TRI remain undeveloped, according to Gilman. The pace of the area’s development has been unprecedented, as initial expectations for the site predicted that the 105,000-acre land would be fully sold and developed within three generations. As it turned out, however, it will take less than 20 years before almost the entirety of the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center was purchased.
“We thought this would take three generations to accomplish. That was my vision at the time. I thought for sure, based on the rate of absorption in Northern Nevada, that we would, certainly, be looking at three generations. But it has been done in less than 20 years,” Gilman said, according to a Las Vegas Sun report.
Gilman admitted that the pace of development in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center had experienced a significant boost since 2014 — the year when Tesla selected the TRI as the site for its first Gigafactory. The massive battery production facility is tasked with manufacturing the battery and drivetrain for the Model 3, as well as the Elon Musk-led firm’s Powerwall and Powerpack energy solutions.
While the site had already been developing at an admirable rate prior to the arrival of the California-based electric car and energy company, the TRI partner-broker credits Tesla as the spark that ultimately encouraged several other firms to invest in the industrial park. In a statement to the Las Vegas Sun, Gilman described how Tesla became the catalyst for the boost in interest and development at the TRI.
“I always smile when I go back and think about four years ago when Tesla arrived. We already had about 115 companies in there… But when we met Tesla, that put us on an entirely different international platform. And when that platform started to grow, all of a sudden, here came Switch and others, and we just had these corporate groups come in here, following Tesla all of a sudden. And so we’ve entered the tech world.”
The Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center partner-broker further noted that just recently, 15 other companies have purchased plots of land in the area. Most of these new transactions involved companies that are, just like Tesla, trailblazing new technologies in the business and consumer landscape. Google purchased 1,210 acres of land at the industrial center for $29.1 million last year and will reportedly build a data center on the premise. Another notable company taking residence is Blockchains LLC, a company focused on the development of blockchain distributed ledger technology.
As we noted in a recent report, Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 seems to be exhibiting growth from within, with the company ramping up its efforts to hire more workers for the site despite the main structure remaining relatively unchanged for the past six months. Once the Nevada Gigafactory is fully completed, the structure would be the largest building in the world by footprint. True to Tesla’s goal of ushering in an era of emissions-free manufacturing, the Nevada Gigafactory is also designed to be powered by sustainable energy.
Energy
Tesla meets Giga New York’s Buffalo job target amid political pressures
Giga New York reported more than 3,460 statewide jobs at the end of 2025, meeting the benchmark tied to its dollar-a-year lease.
Tesla has surpassed its job commitments at Giga New York in Buffalo, easing pressure from lawmakers who threatened the company with fines, subsidy clawbacks, and dealership license revocations last year.
The company reported more than 3,460 statewide jobs at the end of 2025, meeting the benchmark tied to its dollar-a-year lease at the state-built facility.
As per an employment report reviewed by local media, Tesla employed 2,399 full-time workers at Gigafactory New York and 1,060 additional employees across the state at the end of 2025. Part-time roles pushed the total headcount of Tesla’s New York staff above the 3,460-job target.
The gains stemmed in part from a new Long Island service center, a Buffalo warehouse, and additional showrooms in White Plains and Staten Island. Tesla also said it has invested $350 million in supercomputing infrastructure at the site and has begun manufacturing solar panels.
Empire State Development CEO Hope Knight said the agency was “very happy” with Giga New York’s progress, as noted in a WXXI report. The current lease runs through 2029, and negotiations over updated terms have included potential adjustments to job requirements and future rent payments.
Some lawmakers remain skeptical, however. Assemblymember Pat Burke questioned whether the reported job figures have been fully verified. State Sen. Patricia Fahy has also continued to sponsor legislation that would revoke Tesla’s company-owned dealership licenses in New York. John Kaehny of Reinvent Albany has argued that the project has not delivered the manufacturing impact originally promised as well.
Knight, for her part, maintained that Empire State Development has been making the best of a difficult situation.
“(Empire State Development) has tried to make the best of a very difficult situation. There hasn’t been another use that has come forward that would replace this one, and so to the extent that we’re in this place, the fact that 2,000 families at (Giga New York) are being supported through the activity of this employer. It’s the best that we can have happen,” the CEO noted.
Energy
Tesla launches Cybertruck vehicle-to-grid program in Texas
The initiative was announced by the official Tesla Energy account on social media platform X.
Tesla has launched a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) program in Texas, allowing eligible Cybertruck owners to send energy back to the grid during high-demand events and receive compensation on their utility bills.
The initiative, dubbed Powershare Grid Support, was announced by the official Tesla Energy account on social media platform X.
Texas’ Cybertruck V2G program
In its post on X, Tesla Energy confirmed that vehicle-to-grid functionality is “coming soon,” starting with select Texas markets. Under the new Powershare Grid Support program, owners of the Cybertruck equipped with Powershare home backup hardware can opt in through the Tesla app and participate in short-notice grid stress events.
During these events, the Cybertruck automatically discharges excess energy back to the grid, supporting local utilities such as CenterPoint Energy and Oncor. In return, participants receive compensation in the form of bill credits. Tesla noted that the program is currently invitation-only as part of an early adopter rollout.
The launch builds on the Cybertruck’s existing Powershare capability, which allows the vehicle to provide up to 11.5 kW of power for home backup. Tesla added that the program is expected to expand to California next, with eligibility tied to utilities such as PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E.
Powershare Grid Support
To participate in Texas, Cybertruck owners must live in areas served by CenterPoint Energy or Oncor, have Powershare equipment installed, enroll in the Tesla Electric Drive plan, and opt in through the Tesla app. Once enrolled, vehicles would be able to contribute power during high-demand events, helping stabilize the grid.
Tesla noted that events may occur with little notice, so participants are encouraged to keep their Cybertrucks plugged in when at home and to manage their discharge limits based on personal needs. Compensation varies depending on the electricity plan, similar to how Powerwall owners in some regions have earned substantial credits by participating in Virtual Power Plant (VPP) programs.
Tesla is updating Cybertruck owners on its timeline of a massive feature that has yet to ship: Powershare with Powerwall.
Powershare is a bidirectional charging feature exclusive to Cybertruck, which allows the vehicle’s battery to act as a portable power source for homes, appliances, tools, other EVs, and more. It was announced in late 2023 as part of Tesla’s push into vehicle-to-everything energy sharing, and acting as a giant portable charger is the main advantage, as it can provide backup power during outages.
Cybertruck’s Powershare system supports both vehicle-to-load (V2L) and vehicle-to-home (V2H), making it flexible and well-rounded for a variety of applications.
However, even though the feature was promised with Cybertruck, it has yet to be shipped to vehicles. Tesla communicated with owners through email recently regarding Powershare with Powerwall, which essentially has the pickup act as an extended battery.
Powerwall discharge would be prioritized before tapping into the truck’s larger pack.
However, Tesla is still working on getting the feature out to owners, an email said:
“We’re writing to let you know that the Powershare with Powerwall feature is still in development and is now scheduled for release in mid-2026.
This new release date gives us additional time to design and test this feature, ensuring its ability to communicate and optimize energy sharing between your vehicle and many configurations and generations of Powerwall. We are also using this time to develop additional Powershare features that will help us continue to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
Owners have expressed some real disappointment in Tesla’s continuous delays in releasing the feature, as it was expected to be released by late 2024, but now has been pushed back several times to mid-2026, according to the email.
Foundation Series Cybertruck buyers paid extra, expecting the feature to be rolled out with their vehicle upon pickup.
Cybertruck’s Lead Engineer, Wes Morrill, even commented on the holdup:
As a Cybertruck owner who also has Powerwall, I empathize with the disappointed comments.
To their credit, the team has delivered powershare functionality to Cybertruck customers who otherwise have no backup with development of the powershare gateway. As well as those with solar…
— Wes (@wmorrill3) December 12, 2025
He said that “it turned out to be much harder than anticipated to make powershare work seamlessly with existing Powerwalls through existing wall connectors. Two grid-forming devices need to negotiate who will form and who will follow, depending on the state of charge of each, and they need to do this without a network and through multiple generations of hardware, and test and validate this process through rigorous certifications to ensure grid safety.”
It’s nice to see the transparency, but it is justified for some Cybertruck owners to feel like they’ve been bait-and-switched.
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