Tesla Gave Austin-Based University’s Staff A Tour Of Giga Texas

The University of Texas–Austin’s McCombs School of Business recently shared a post on LinkedIn giving a “Texas-sized thank you” to Tesla for welcoming Dean Lillian Mills and the University of Texas at Austin President Jay Hartzell to Tesla’s newest factory. The university wrote, “It was a pleasure getting a behind-the-scenes look at production with our fantastic guide Daniel J. Universal, meeting Texas Exes at work like Marco Reyes ’15, and more. We look forward to future opportunities with the company.”

This isn’t the first time Tesla gave a generous welcome to higher-ups at the University of Texas. In April 2021, Tesla invited Beth Beagels, the Director of Corporate Relations at the University of Texas at Austin, who toured the factory as it was being built. Beagles shared that Tesla’s Omead Ashfar provided a best-in-class tour of the then-under-construction factory. She added that the University of Texas at Austin couldn’t wait to welcome Tesla to the city.

The university’s president, Jay Hartzell, also took part in the earlier tour. He wrote:

“Inspiring and impressive visit to see what Tesla is doing in Austin. Peter Stone and I are excited to work with Omead Afshar and Tesla to build out what will clearly be an incredible partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. This is going to be huge, on so many levels! Hook ‘em!”

The University of Texas isn’t the only location for higher education that has gotten to know Tesla. In 2021, Tesla partnered with Austin Community College to launch a 14-week Tesla START Manufacturing Program to help students prepare for a career at Tesla.

Tesla’s relationships with the local universities, colleges, and even the Del Valle Independent School District show its commitment not only to the local community but to its promise to work with the universities to create a school-to-career pipeline.