Drone video dated Nov. 8 shows clearing and earthwork at the proposed site of Tesla’s $10.1 billion Project Crystal Sun solar factory in Fort Bend County, Texas, videographer S.E. Robinson Jr. reported, according to Tesla North and Drive Tesla Canada.
Why it matters: The footage is the clearest recent sign of activity on the roughly 3,000-acre tract near FM 762 and FM 1994, south of the Brazos River and Needville. It does not, by itself, confirm a final investment decision or a construction timetable.
Robinson’s 12-minute aerial video shows cleared ground and equipment staging, the outlets said. On Nov. 9, Elon Musk posted the words “Project Crystal Sun” on X while sharing posts that said construction had begun. Musk’s comment did not include a schedule, production target or other details, Tesla North noted. A Lamar CISD summary of Tesla’s incentive application, cited by Tesla North, describes a plant that would make photovoltaic cells and or assembled modules, with about $8.6 billion of the $10.1 billion proposed for equipment and other personal property and $1.5 billion for real property. The application anticipates commercial operations in the first quarter of 2029 and about 9,712 permanent jobs by 2033. Those are project forecasts.
The same district summary said Tesla had been evaluating alternative locations and had not made a final site-selection decision at the time of the filing. Tesla North treated the new video and Musk’s post as encouraging signs for Fort Bend, not proof that every approval is complete.