Austin, TX

Tesla skirts Austin's environmental rules at Texas gigafactory

Published

2 years ago

April 22, 2024

Tesla skirts Austin's environmental rules at Texas gigafactory

Tesla has used a new Texas state law to exempt its Austin gigafactory from Austin’s environmental regulations, as reported by Austin Business Journal.

Tesla’s Texas gigafactory is commonly referred to as being in Austin, but it is actually situated not far outside the city’s official borders.

This is technically part of Austin’s “extraterritorial jurisdiction” (ETJ) an area around the city which doesn’t technically belong to the city, but which the city can still exercise some control over the development of.

Due to the large amount of unincorporated land in Texas, and its growing population causing cities to tend to sprawl outward, it is prudent for some cities to help plan the areas immediately outside their limits, so that infrastructure can be compatible if the city later grows to encompass those areas. This is why Texas and some other Western states have ETJ laws.

But, last year, the Texas legislature passed a law, SB 2038, allowing developments to remove themselves from these ETJs relatively easily.

Earlier this year, Tesla filed a petition to remove itself from Austin’s ETJ, and that petition was accepted, according to Austin Business Journal.

The law has been challenged by several cities in Texas, though Austin is not one of the cities opposing it.

Tesla’s removal from the ETJ allows it to skirt Austin’s environmental regulations, particularly over regulation of water quality and flooding issues, according to an Austin spokesperson interviewed by Austin Business Journal.

Both of these would be important at the gigafactory site, since the property encompasses 2,100 acres and runs directly along the Colorado River, just after it runs through Austin’s center.

Tesla itself has pointed out the ecological importance of its location, as when the site was first selected, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the area would be an “ecological paradise.” That promised ecological paradise has not yet materialized, but the company did present a plan to create a 120-acre public space alongside the river last October.

Tesla is also building something called a “Giga Water Loop” at the site, but we don’t actually know much more than that about what it is.

Water issues have been in focus at other Tesla locations, particularly its gigafactory in Grünheide,outside Berlin, Germany. While some opposition to the factory has come from front groups for the oil industry, there have also been criminal allegations by legitimate environmental groups related to Tesla’s management of its water usage.

The issues have rankled Tesla’s relationship with the local community in Grünheide, with locals voting down expansion of the factory and, in a crazier and much less productive move, resulting in sabotage that led to the factory’s temporary shutdown.

In Germany, Tesla has responded to local issues by attempting to manage its water use better, and by replanting trees to make up for the site’s encroachment into a managed forest area nearby.

But now, in Texas, it seems like Tesla would rather not have to deal with that sort of thing at all (though, as usual, Tesla did not comment on why they took this move). By exempting itself from Austin’s regulations, there will be less oversight of what sort of water usage or discharge the site has, and whether that might affect other parts of the river.

And yet, Tesla has still benefitted from its proximity to Austin, as the city extended utility connections to the site during the construction process. Austin did this without first annexing the area, as at the time, Texas law was clear that the area was in the city’s ETJ.

Now due to changing Texas law, Tesla gets to keep those benefits, but has exempted itself from environmental oversight, despite making many environmental claims about the site in question.

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Austin, TX

PHOTO: Apparent gunman in Austin 6th Street shooting wore ‘Property of Allah’ shirt

Published

2 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

PHOTO: Apparent gunman in Austin 6th Street shooting wore ‘Property of Allah’ shirt

article

FOX News obtained this image that purportedly shows the gunman responsible for a deadly mass shooting in Austin, Texas, on March 1, 2026. (FOX News)

AUSTIN, Texas – Investigators are probing the deadly shooting on Austin’s Sixth Street, that left three dead and 14 injured.

Officials are gathering new evidence that could point to extremist motives, as additional details surfaced Sunday about the gunman’s background and clothing during the incident.

What we know:

Three people, including the gunman, were killed, and 14 others were wounded early Sunday outside Buford’s beer garden in Downtown Austin.

Police said officers were responding to reports of gunfire around 1:40 a.m., before confronting the suspect and fatally shooting him after he opened fire.

Authorities have not publicly identified the suspect, but an FBI spokesman said on Sunday that investigators are reviewing materials recovered from the suspect and his vehicle that indicate a “potential nexus to terrorism,” but cautioned that it is too early to determine a motive or whether the attack was directed or inspired by a specific group.

Dig deeper:

FOX News reported Sunday that it had obtained a photo of the suspect taken before the shooting. The image showed a man holding a firearm and wearing a gray sweatshirt bearing the words “Property of Allah.”

Sources also told the network the suspect was wearing an undershirt that appeared to display an Iranian flag or Iranian imagery.

The Source: Information in this article was provided by FOX News and press conferences held by Austin police and the FBI.

Mass ShootingsDowntownAustinTravis CountyTexasCrime and Public Safety

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Austin, TX

Multiple people injured in mass shooting on 6th St; Austin Police investigating

Published

14 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Multiple people injured in mass shooting on 6th St; Austin Police investigating

Austin Police are investigating a mass shooting at Buford’s on West 6th Street that’s left multiple people injured.

This happened around 2 A.M. as the bar was closing.

The number of people injured is not known.

Austin Police are also investigating an Officer Involved Shooting in the 600 block of Rio Grande Street.

They say the suspect is deceased.

APD says the call originated as a shoot/stab hotshot incident with multiple people injured.

Austin Travis County EMS and the Austin Fire Department are also on the scene.

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This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is released.

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Austin, TX

State of the Texas Longhorns: Where UT athletics stands in early 2026

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

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State of the Texas Longhorns: Where UT athletics stands in early 2026

If Bevo had to step in front of the microphones, cameras and Texas football fans everywhere to deliver an annual State of the Longhorns address, what would he say?

Maybe he would expound on the virtues of Arch Manning and deride the College Football Playoff committee for leaving the Longhorns out. Or maybe he would just as for some more hay to snack on.

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Texas Longhorns linebacker Ty'Anthony Smith (26) lifts the trophy with head coach Steve Sarkisianas the Longhorns celebrate after winning the Citrus Bowl 41-27 against the Michigan Wolverines at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, Dec. 31, 2025. — Texas Longhorns linebacker Ty’Anthony Smith (26) lifts the trophy with head coach Steve Sarkisianas the Longhorns celebrate after winning the Citrus Bowl 41-27 against the Michigan Wolverines at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, Dec. 31, 2025.

Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman

Bevo and his predecessors have been stomping on the sidelines of Texas games for over 100 years. It might require a few hundred more years and some substantial evolutionary progress before he’s ready to deliver the burnt orange equivalent of the President’s annual State of the Union Address, which took place Tuesday night.

Bevo XV makes his way into Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium during before the start of an NCAA college football game against Texas A&M Aggies in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.
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Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman

For now, we’ll take on the task for him. Here’s where things stand with the Longhorns in early 2026.

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Where the Texas Longhorns rank nationally

Texas won the Learfield Directors’ Cup — awarded to the best-performing athletic department in the country — for the second consecutive year and the fourth time in the last five years in 2025. That’s a remarkable achievement.

How likely are the Longhorns to repeat in 2026?

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MORE: Texas football is spending a lot on its coaches. Why Steve Sarkisian says it’s necessary

It’s tough to predict. Texas didn’t have a great fall, by its standards. The Longhorns rank 31st in the Directors’ Cup standings, with fifth-place, 13th-place and 33rd-place finishes in women’s volleyball, football and men’s cross country finishes marking the only areas where they picked up points.

The good news for Texas is that the fall typically isn’t kind to the Longhorns. Last year, they came out of the autumn ranked 16th.

The winter should be much better. Texas, as usual, has national championship contenders in both men’s and women’s swimming. The Longhorns have an elite women’s basketball team and top-20 teams in men’s and women’s indoor track and field. They can make up some serious ground when results for those sports are tabulated in April.

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We know less about the Longhorns’ outlook in the spring sports, many of which are just getting going, but that has been a source of strength for UT in years past. Last year, North Carolina paced the Directors’ Cup field after the fall and winter events were scored. Texas nearly doubled the Tar Heels’ spring score to chase them down.

How Texas matches up with its in-state rival Texas A&M

Any successful political endeavor requires success in your power base.

Texas’ move to the SEC ahead of the 2024-25 athletic campaign led to the revival of the Lone Star Showdown against local rival Texas A&M. Like the Directors’ Cup, the Lone Star Showdown measures the results of all sports, compiling outcomes of games between the Aggies and Longhorns throughout the academic year.

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MORE: What a hot start for Dylan Volantis, UT pitchers means for Longhorns

Last year, Texas won the Lone Star Showdown over Texas A&M by a final score of 11-7.

This year, the Aggies hold a 5.5-4 lead at the time of publication. Texas A&M has bested the Longhorns in soccer, cross country, volleyball, women’s tennis and men’s basketball, while Texas took home points in football, women’s basketball and swimming and diving.

There are still 9.5 points up for grabs. Half a point is at stake when the men’s basketball teams meet in College Station on Saturday, Two more points can be had this weekend at the SEC indoor track championships, too.

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Texas Longhorns have a down year financially

The campaign funds did not flow as freely for the Longhorns in the 2025 fiscal year.

Texas made a $23.3 million loss, according to financial documents reviewed by the American-Statesman.

The Longhorns attribute most of that to a diminished SEC media rights share — a stipulation Texas agreed to in order to leave the Big 12 for the SEC a year earlier than originally planned. The average SEC school took in $72.4 million in conference distributions in 2025. Texas received just $12.1 million.

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Texas officials say they’re not concerned about their financial position because their agreement with the SEC puts them in line for a full revenue share in the next fiscal year. Rob Novak, the Longhorns’ Chief Financial Officer, said the $23.3 million loss was considered a good financial outcome internally.

And, Novak says, the Longhorns had cash to fall back on. He told the Statesman that the Athletic Department still has over $30 million available in reserve after earning a profit for three consecutive years prior to 2025.

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