Tesla Files for $10.1 Billion Solar Cell Plant in Fort Bend County, Texas
Project Crystal Sun filing reveals plans for a vertically integrated facility spanning roughly 3,000 acres with nearly 10,000 projected permanent jobs.
Tesla has filed paperwork with the state of Texas for a $10.1 billion solar cell manufacturing facility in Fort Bend County, according to a public application submitted July 22 under the Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation Act.
What Happened
The filing, prepared by Kroll Tax Services on Tesla's behalf and first surfaced by Sawyer Merritt on X, lists an internal project name of 'Project Crystal Sun.' The proposed site sits off FM 762 and FM 1994 near Richmond, roughly 40 minutes outside Houston. Tesla is seeking a 10-year property tax limitation in exchange for the investment, structured as $1.5 billion in real property and $8.6 billion in equipment and personal property across five parcels totaling approximately 3,000 acres within the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District. The company projects 9,712 permanent jobs once operational, with 1,147 peak construction jobs during a build window running from this year through 2028 and commercial operations targeted for first quarter 2029. According to the filing, Tesla is weighing the Fort Bend site against an unnamed out-of-state alternative, framing the tax abatement as necessary to make Texas competitive.
Why It Matters
The proposed plant would handle the full solar cell production chain in one facility—covering wafer and ingot manufacturing, coating, metallization, printing lines, cell testing, automated material handling, and cleanroom infrastructure. That scope indicates Tesla is vertically integrating a supply chain segment it currently sources largely from overseas partners, similar to its expanding Megapack production in Brookshire, Texas. The timing aligns with SpaceX's $16.8 billion Terafab chip factory commitment in Grimes County, which would produce AI chips for Tesla's Optimus robots and Full Self-Driving software. A domestic solar cell plant would feed the panels and storage systems Tesla sells to homeowners, businesses, and utilities—and increasingly needs to power its own data centers as Musk has tied solar manufacturing capacity to Tesla's AI ambitions.
The Bottom Line
Tesla is not fully committed to Fort Bend County yet. The filing explicitly states that if the district and county decline the requested tax incentive, the company may build elsewhere.
