Tesla filed paperwork this week for a massive new manufacturing facility in Texas. The proposed 10.1 billion dollar solar plant, called “Project Crystal Sun,” could create nearly 10,000 permanent jobs near Houston.
The company submitted a public application for school district property tax breaks on August 6. The filing targets a site in Fort Bend County, about 40 minutes southwest of downtown Houston. If local officials approve the plans, construction could start later this year and finish in 2028. Tesla expects commercial operations to begin in early 2029.
Bringing Solar Production Under One Roof
The new facility would handle everything from raw materials to finished solar panels. The application says the plant will “manufacture photovoltaic solar cells and/or assembled solar modules, which are components used to convert sunlight into electricity.”
Tesla plans to build a completely vertically integrated site. The filing lists equipment for making wafers and ingots, alongside coating machines, printing lines, and cell testing hardware. It also includes plans for cleanrooms, chemical storage, and automated material handling systems.
Once finished, the products will go toward utility-scale solar farms, commercial buildings, and standard residential installations.
Economic Impact In Fort Bend County
The proposed site covers more than 3,000 acres across five land parcels. It sits near the intersection of FM 1994 and FM 762, just south of Sugar Land, Richmond, and Rosenberg.
The project brings serious job numbers to the area. Tesla expects to hire 1,147 construction workers during peak building times over a three-year period. After opening, the plant would support 9,712 permanent full-time jobs.
State records show the total economic footprint could be huge. The site is expected to generate about 6.4 billion dollars in state and local taxes. And it could add roughly 107 billion dollars to the Texas gross domestic product over time.
The Fort Bend proposal is just one piece of Elon Musk’s growing Texas empire. On the same day Tesla filed this application, the state confirmed that SpaceX will build a separate 16.8 billion dollar chip factory in Grimes County, slightly north of Houston.
Tesla is also securing more renewable power across the state. The company recently signed a deal to buy all the electricity from Zelestra’s upcoming 140-megawatt Lumen Farm solar project in northeast Texas.
Fort Bend County already has ties to Tesla’s energy business. Earlier this month, renewable energy company Ørsted started running its Old 300 Storage project in the county. That facility uses a 250-megawatt Tesla Megapack battery system to help stabilize the Texas power grid.
The Fort Bend location is not finalized yet. Tesla applied for tax incentives through the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District under the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology & Innovation Act.
The company stated in its application that it is still evaluating at least one other location for the plant. Tesla noted that receiving the tax breaks “would help to establish the Fort Bend County site as economically competitive in relation to the other site.”
Local officials have not scheduled a vote on the tax abatement yet. And Tesla has not announced a specific groundbreaking date. But if the deal goes through, it will mark one of the largest manufacturing investments in the Houston region’s history. You can check the official filing here.
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