Tesla to Build Engineering Headquarters in California

Tesla makes California the location of its global engineering headquarters.

CEO Elon Musk and California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that Tesla’s new engineering headquarters will be in the former Hewlett-Packard offices.

The sudden revival of Tesla’s relationship with California may come as a surprise after the electric vehicle maker relocated and moved its headquarters from Fremont, California to Austin, Texas in 2021 after disputes with the state over the COVID-19 restrictions. Musk has also repeatedly criticized California for its overregulation and high tax burden.

However, Tesla maintained operations at its first factory in Fremont, which is still home to many engineers.

You’re here tweeted he’s hiring for new engineering positions in California, which is believed to be a big part of why Newsom is backing the electric vehicle maker’s investment in the state. Sources told CNBC that the focus will be on engineers skilled in research development and artificial intelligence.

“California prides itself on being at the forefront of discovery, new ideas and innovation,” Newsom said, noting the state’s long relationship with Tesla. Newsom said he’s excited to work with Tesla to both transform the auto industry and strengthen California’s manufacturing dominance.

Musk said the Fremont plant is expected to produce more than 600,000 vehicles this year.

Tesla also said on Wednesday it would concentrate battery cell production in the United States to take advantage of federal Inflation Reduction Act incentives.

Although Tesla is California’s most popular automaker, the company has a difficult relationship with the state. Tesla is under investigation by the federal equal opportunity agency and is still in the midst of a lawsuit filed by the state civil rights department over worker complaints. that the Fremont plant is plagued by racial prejudice and harassment. The California Department of Motor Vehicles has also accused Tesla of falsely advertising its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) advanced driver assistance systems.

Tesla is expected to dig deeper into the details of the announcement on Wednesday during a scheduled livestream event.