Tesla is expected to open a Megapack large-scale battery-storage manufacturing facility west of Houston that could create 1,500 jobs.
The electric vehicle-maker and energy company plans to convert 1 million square feet it leased in 2021 at Empire West Business Park along I-10 in Brookshire, about 40 miles west of downtown Houston. A third-party logistics company handling Tesla parts has filled the space but is leaving, electric vehicle new site Electrek reported.
Additionally, Empire West developer Stream Realty will oversee construction of a 600,000-square-foot distribution and manufacturing facility that Tesla also will occupy, according to news website Covering Katy.
County documents didn't disclose timing of the projects, but a tax abatement agreement with Waller County starts in January 2026.
The facility would be used to make utility-grade batteries. Tesla's Megapack is a grid-scale battery that stores solar and wind power for redistribution when energy demand is high. Battery storage
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The company operates two Megafactory battery plants: One in Lathrop, Calif., is capable of producing 10,000 Megapack units annually, the equivalent of 40 GWh of energy storage. Another in Shanghai recently started Megapack production.
Waller County Commissioners on Wednesday approved a tax abatement for the project. In exchange, Tesla will make major property improvements. The deal would be in effect from January 2026 to 2035.
The deal calls for a Stream Realty entity to make $44 million in facility upgrades and for Tesla to install $150 million in manufacturing equipment. A future phase involves Stream Realty building a $31 million new facility, with Tesla adding $2 million in distribution equipment and building improvements, according to the agreement.
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It also calls for Tesla to hire at least 375 people in the deal's first year, 750 by the second year and 1,500 by the third.
Tesla is recruiting talent at Texas A&M University, University of Texas and in Oklahoma, a Tesla representative told Waller County Commissioners.
“This gives good paying jobs right here in Waller County, so you don't have to drive into Houston or the surrounding area to have a good income,” Commissioner Justin Beckendorff. About 150 jobs will offer annual salaries of more than $100,000 and another 50 of more than $150,000, he said.
Tesla moved its headquarters to Texas from California in December 2021 after the launch of its electric vehicle Gigafactory in Austin.
Updated: March 5, 5:15 p..m.: This story has been updated with information from a recording of the Waller County Commission meeting.
March 6, 2025
Marissa Luck
Senior Real Estate Reporter
Marissa Luck is a senior real estate reporter at Houston Chronicle. She can be reached at [email protected].
Previously, Luck covered commercial real estate in Texas for CoStar News; real estate for Austin Business Journal; energy for Houston Chronicle; and business news for The Daily News in Longview, Wash. She’s won awards from Society of Professional Journalists and National Association of Real Estate Editors, and her byline has appeared in numerous publications nationally. Originally from Hawaii, Luck grew up in the Pacific Northwest and studied international political economy at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash. She now lives in Midtown Houston.