Tesla filed plans for a $10.1 billion solar factory campus in Texas, with production from 2029
PV Tech: Project Crystal Sun on 3,050 acres in Fort Bend County, $1.5 billion in real property and $8.6 billion in equipment, per a Texas filing. No nameplate capacity disclosed. Commercial production targeted for Q1 2029.
US buyers of commercial solar have spent two years asking where panels will come from once tariffs bite. Tesla has filed one large answer, three years out.
PV Tech reported on 12 August 2026 that Tesla had filed plans for Project Crystal Sun, a vertically integrated solar manufacturing campus in Fort Bend County, Texas, on 3,050 acres. The filing lists $1.5 billion in real property and $8.6 billion in equipment, $10.1 billion in total.
No nameplate capacity was disclosed. A PV Tech analyst estimate puts it above 10 GW, but that is an estimate, not a Tesla figure. The filing lists 9,712 jobs, with commercial production targeted for the first quarter of 2029.
Analogy: it is a bakery chain announcing it will grow its own wheat and mill its own flour. Great for supply. The first loaf is still years away.
Good: a large domestic supply plan from a company that sells both solar and batteries. More US-made modules would help buyers dealing with import duties.
Bad: no capacity, no product line and no price. The filing is a plan, not a factory.
Ugly: 2029 is beyond the solar tax credit window for most projects starting now. This does not help a 2027 rooftop job.
Source: PV Tech, 12 Aug 2026 - Tesla plans US$10.1 billion vertically integrated solar plant in Texas.