A $500 million, 2,500 home development project will come to the City of Austin located near Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas as the electric automotive plant is catalyzing employment in the area and bringing on a need for more housing.
Hines, a real estate development company based out of Houston, has plans to develop a $500 million housing community on 1,400 acres. The plot of land will be large enough to have 2,500 new houses and between 1,250 and 2,000 multifamily units. Mirador, the project’s name, will be developed in the southeastern portion of Austin, in a location within close proximity to Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas, as just a fifteen-minute drive will get you to the factory from your front door.
Dustin Davidson, a managing director for Hines, said that the influx of employment opportunities, especially Tesla’s new factory, have surged the market for Austin’s residential real estate. “Lots of employment opportunities coming; Tesla’s obviously the big one, but they’re just one of many, and we believe more will come,” Davidson said to the Austin Business Journal (via KXAN).
Hines announced details of the project on its website:
“Mirador will consist of 2,500 single-family lots, 50 acres of multi-family and townhomes (including attached, detached, duplexes, quadplexes) and 75 acres of commercial land. The development will continue a partnership with Gehan Homes and Lennar Homes, add David Weekley Homes, Highland Homes, MHI Homes, and will bring on more builders to in the future. Conveniently located off the 130 Toll and Highway 71, the community offers a suburban ambiance with easy access to the new Tesla Gigafactory, the Circuit of the Americas Formula One racetrack, as well as all the local restaurants, parks, live music venues and other attractions Austin offers in under 15 minutes. Plus, residents can make use of the convenient on-site amenities, such as the 60-acre lake, over 600-acres of greenbelt, community parks, extensive trails and swimming pool.”
Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas is expected to amend an area weakened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Travis County officials launched a “Declaration of Disaster” in March 2020, and Federal Reserve data showed a 10.2 percent spike in unemployment filings from April 2019 to April 2020. According to a presentation given by Tesla in June 2020, the automaker projected that its new plant would supply “5,000 middle-skill jobs that fit a targeted economic development need” and would directly contribute $600 million in annual sales activity. The factory was also expected to create 4,000 new non-Tesla jobs due to “secondary effects.”
Gigafactory Texas’ most recent estimates have projected at least 15,000 new jobs both directly and indirectly at the plant. As of October 2021, Tesla had already created 5,000 new jobs in Austin, the most that any company had created in 2021. Amazingly, Tesla has not received an approval certificate from the State that would allow it to build vehicles at the plant and deliver them to customers, yet it still created more jobs than any other company in the Austin area last year.
Tesla Giga Texas drive-bys show just how massive Elon Musk’s Cybertruck factory really is
Austin: America’s New Hot Spot
Austin has been one of the United States’ most heavily developed cities in the past several years. Tesla may be the biggest name to move its corporate headquarters to the City, but it is not the only company to establish a relatively drastic presence in the area. Google is investing $50 million in Texas this year to develop office space. Amazon is building a new 3.8 million square foot distribution center in nearby Pflugerville. Apple is building a $1 billion campus in north Austin and will move some of its employees to the area.
However, Tesla’s Factory seemed to spark the job creation, according to Austin-area realtor Paul Smith. “Once Tesla was announced, now all of a sudden you have job creation. That’s the one thing that it didn’t really have is, southeast Austin was kind of neglected for a little bit, right?” Smith said. The surge of corporate projects in the area has contributed to skyrocketing home costs. The neighborhood closest to Mirador had its average house price jump $93,000 from December 2020 to December 2021, Redfin data suggests.
The influx of economic growth, which has largely been fed by the vast number of projects and companies headed to the region, has largely fueled housing costs to skyrocket thanks to increased demand. More families will move to the Austin area in the coming years due to its attractiveness to corporations and large companies. Austin was ranked #1 on Zillow’s hottest housing market for 2021. In 2022, the City ranks 10th.
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Cybertruck
Tesla Cybertruck gets long-awaited safety feature
Tesla has announced the rollout of its innovative anti-dooring protection feature to the Cybertruck via the 2026.8 software update.
Tesla is rolling out a new and long-awaited feature to the Cybertruck all-electric pickup, and it is a safety addition geared toward pedestrian and cyclist safety, as well as accidents with other vehicles.
Tesla has announced the rollout of its innovative anti-dooring protection feature to the Cybertruck via the 2026.8 software update.
This safety enhancement uses the vehicle’s existing cameras to detect approaching cyclists, pedestrians, or vehicles in the blind spot while parked. Upon attempting to open a door, if a hazard is detected, the system activates: the blind spot indicator light flashes, an audible chime sounds, and the door will not open on the initial button press.
Drivers must wait briefly and press the button again to override, providing crucial seconds to avoid an accident.
Anti-dooring protection now rolling out to @Cybertruck
This feature comes standard on every new Model 3, Model Y & Cybertruck – using cameras to delay door opening if a cyclist, pedestrian or other vehicle is detected approaching in your blind spot
— Tesla North America (@tesla_na) March 17, 2026
The feature, also known as Blind Spot Warning While Parked, comes standard on every new Model 3 and Model Y, and is now extending to the Cybertruck. Leveraging Tesla’s vision-based system without requiring new hardware, it represents a cost-effective software solution that builds on community suggestions dating back to 2018.
This technology addresses the persistent danger of “dooring,” where a driver opens a car door into the path of a passing cyclist or pedestrian.
Tesla implemented this little-known feature to make its cars even safer
Dooring incidents are alarmingly common in urban environments.
According to Chicago data, in 2011 alone, there were 344 reported dooring crashes, accounting for approximately 20 percent of all bicycle crashes in the city, nearly one incident per day.
While numbers have fluctuated (dropping to 11 percent in 2014 before rising again), dooring consistently represents 10-20 percent of bike-related crashes in major cities.
A national analysis of emergency department data estimates over 17,000 dooring-related injuries treated in the U.S. over a decade, with many involving fractures, contusions, and head trauma, particularly affecting upper extremities.
By automatically intervening, Tesla’s system not only protects vulnerable road users but also safeguards its owners from potential liability and enhances overall road safety.
As cities promote cycling for sustainable transport, features like this demonstrate how advanced driver assistance and camera systems can evolve beyond highway driving to everyday urban scenarios.
Enthusiastic responses on social media highlight appreciation for the proactive safety measure, with some calling for broader rollout to older models where hardware permits. Tesla continues to push the boundaries of vehicle safety through over-the-air updates, making its fleet smarter and safer over time.
Elon Musk
Tesla Roadster is ‘sorcery and magic’ and might be worth the wait, Uber founder says
Perhaps the wait will be worth it, especially according to Uber founder Travis Kalanick, who recently teased the Roadster’s potential capabilities based on what he has heard from internal Tesla sources.
Tesla is planning to unveil the Roadster in late April after years of waiting. But the wait might be worth it, according to Travis Kalanick, the founder of Uber, who recently shed some light on his expectations for the all-electric supercar.
We all know the Roadster is supposed to have some serious capability. CEO Elon Musk has said on numerous occasions that the Roadster will be unlike anything else ever produced. It might go from 0-60 MPH in about a second, it might hover, it might have SpaceX cold gas thrusters.
However, the constant delays in the Roadster program and its unveiling event continue to send Tesla fans into confusion because they’re just not sure when, or if, they’ll ever see the finished product.
Perhaps the wait will be worth it, especially according to Uber founder Travis Kalanick, who recently teased the Roadster’s potential capabilities based on what he has heard from internal Tesla sources.
Kalanick said on X:
When I’ve run into people who are in the know, I inquire, they tell me nothing, but their eyebrows raise and their eyes widen in a way that can only mean something of sorcery and magic is coming…
— travis kalanick (@travisk) March 17, 2026
Musk has said this vehicle is not going to be geared for safety, and that, “If safety is your number one goal, do not buy the Roadster.”
There has been so much hype regarding the Roadster that it is hard to believe the company could not come through on some kind of crazy features for the vehicle.
However, the latest delay that Tesla put on the unveiling event is definitely eye-opening, especially considering it is the latest in a series of pushbacks the company has put on the vehicle for the past several years.
Tesla has made several jumps in the Roadster project over the past few months, as it has ramped up hiring for the vehicle and also applied for a patent for a new seat design.
The car has been a back-burner project for Tesla, as it has been focusing primarily on autonomy and the rollout of Robotaxi and Cybercab. Additionally, its other vehicle projects, like the Model 3 and Model Y refreshes, took precedence.
Tesla still plans to unveil the Roadster next month, so we can hope the company can stick to this timeframe.
Cybertruck
Elon Musk clarifies viral Tesla Cybertruck accident with driver logs
Musk has come out to say that the driver logs have already shown that the driver “disengaged Autopilot four seconds before crashing,” in a post on X.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has clarified some details regarding the viral Tesla Cybertruck accident with company driver logs, which show various metrics at the time of an incident.
The logs have been used in the past to pull responsibility off of Tesla when the automaker’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) or Autopilot platforms are blamed for a collision or accident. It appears this will be no different.
On Tuesday, a video of a Cybertruck crashing into an overpass barrier in August 2025 was shared by Fox Business in a story that reported a woman was suing the automaker for $1 million in a liability and negligence case.
In the suit, Justine Saint Amour said that, “Something terrifying happened, without warning, the vehicle attempted to drive straight off an overpass.” Her attorney, Bob Hilliard, said Amour “tried to take control, but crashed into the barrier and was seriously injured (mostly her shoulder, neck, and back).”
The Tesla Model Y is leading China’s electric SUV segment by a wide margin
Tesla vehicle crashes are widely popular to report by mainstream media outlets because of the sensationalism of the event. Oftentimes, these outlets will include Tesla in the headline, especially because it will pique the interest of the masses, as most who read the story are waiting to see the claim that Autopilot or Full Self-Driving was the culprit of the accident.
However, Tesla has access to the logs of every vehicle in its fleet, which will show the various metrics, like whether either FSD or Autopilot was active, if the accelerator was pressed, the speed, and other important factors.
Musk has come out to say that the driver logs have already shown that the driver “disengaged Autopilot four seconds before crashing,” in a post on X.
Logs show driver disengaged Autopilot four seconds before crashing
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 18, 2026
If the logs do show this, which Tesla will likely have to prove in court, the real question would be why did the Amour disengage the suite?
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite is still not fully autonomous, meaning the driver cannot pull attention away from the road and must be ready to take over the vehicle at all times.
It will be interesting to see how this particular case pans out, especially considering the clip that was released by the law firm starts at about four seconds before the collision. Tesla logs have dispelled media reports in the past that have accused the company’s suite of being responsible for an accident, so there will be some major attention on what is proven in this particular case.
Tesla Cybertruck gets long-awaited safety feature
Tesla Roadster is ‘sorcery and magic’ and might be worth the wait, Uber founder says
