Fort Bend County Offers 30-Year Tax Abatement to Land Tesla's $10B Solar Plant

Fort Bend County has proposed a three-decade incentives package to attract a $10 billion Tesla solar panel manufacturing facility, though the Austin-based company has not formally selected a site. The race has narrowed to two locations, one in Texas and another out of state, according to a Tesla site selection advisor. Under the terms reported by the Houston Chronicle, Tesla would pay county property taxes on structures and buildings but receive waivers on machinery taxes. Fort Bend County would also waive inventory taxes for the first 10 years, scaling the abatement down to 90% thereafter. The deal would extend five additional years if the facility exceeds its projected staffing levels. Lamar Consolidated Independent School District has offered separate benefits. The project adds to Tesla CEO Elon Musk's expanding Texas footprint. SpaceX and Tesla are building a $55 billion semiconductor plant dubbed Terafab in Grimes County, while xAI subleased space at Austin's Seaholm Power Plant earlier this year.