Tesla unveils plan for 120-acre ecological paradise at Giga Texas

Tesla has unveiled a plan for a 120-acre pilot project for its promised ecological paradise at Gigafactory Texas.

When first discussing the Gigafactory Texas project, CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla planned to turn the area around the Colorado River on the site into an “ecological paradise” open to the public.

When Musk announced that, he didn’t go into the details beyond mentioning “a boardwalk, hiking, and biking trails, and access to a stream.”

Now we learn a bit more about the project thanks to a new presentation Tesla gave to the Travis County Commissioners Court.

As part of the deal with the local government to build the factory in Austin, Tesla has to make community investment. During the meeting, Tesla listed some of those community investments.

Tesla also disclosed that it has already invested $5.8 billion in the factory and plans to almost double that number by the time the factory is completed.

The automaker also disclosed already having 12,000 employees at the plant.

Then Tesla revealed a 120-acre “Giga Texas Ecologial Uplift” pilot project, which appears to be the precursor to the “ecological paradise” that Musk previously announced:

The project includes plenting thousands of trees and plants as well as removing invasive species. Tesla has already started on its effort and says that it has already seeded 46 acres.

Tesla is also working on improving the soil on the piece land and creating about 30 acres of “shallow water habitat.”

We recently reported on Tesla planning to build something called the “Giga Water Loop” at the site of Giga Texas, but it is unclear if it has anything to do with this project.

Here’s the Tesla presentation in full: