Tesla Kicks Off Work On Project Crystal Sun, Its Biggest US Solar Bet Yet

• Tesla expects to invest $10.116 billion from 2026 through 2028, including about $1.5 billion in real estate and $8.6 billion in equipment, at Project Crystal Sun. 
• TSLA stock is up 5% at the time of writing, bouncing back after a steep 10% drop last week.
• Commercial operations at the facility are slated to begin in the first quarter of 2029.

EV giant Tesla Inc. (TSLA) has officially started site work at its new solar manufacturing facility near Houston, Texas, to expand its energy business in the U.S.

The factory, nicknamed Project Crystal Sun, would occupy parts of a 3,050-acre site near Richmond in Fort Bend County. Tesla expects to invest $10.116 billion, including about $1.5 billion in real estate and $8.6 billion in equipment, from 2026 through 2028, with commercial operations potentially beginning in the first quarter of 2029.

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TSLA stock is up 5% at the time of writing, bouncing back after a steep 10% drop last week.

Tesla Attempts To Scale Domestic Solar Manufacturing

Tesla's energy business was formed with the company's $2.6 billion acquisition of SolarCity in 2016. The company combined its in-house battery storage developments under the segment.

The segment has since scaled. In 2025, the company reported energy generation and storage revenue of $12.77 billion, accounting for about 13.5% of the company's overall revenue. Automotive revenue, however, continued to account for a majority of the company's revenue.

In late 2025, Tesla began producing its own residential solar panels at the Buffalo, New York, plant to slash dependence on partners or solar cell imports from China. However, the New York plant also focuses on superchargers and other work.

Project Crystal Sun is meant to be a dedicated facility aimed at scaling solar cell production within the U.S., avoiding reliance on China as the company's own needs for power rise with its pivot into AI and robotics. Musk has previously spoken of targeting very large U.S. solar manufacturing capacity on the order of 100 GW a year, hinting that it would take about 3 years.  

Musk Bemoans Difficulty Of Scaling Factories

The start of construction at the new facility comes on the heels of Musk noting on X that “it is insanely… hard to build a high-volume factory.”

Musk was speaking about the company’s decision to halt the production of its stainless steel Cybertruck to make space for Cybercabs. The CEO said during the weekend that Tesla will pause production of the Cybertruck at its gigafactory in Texas next year around June-July. While the company will try to scale production to meet demand until the halt, those whose orders cannot be met will have their deposits returned, he added.  

How Did TSLA Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around TSLA stock was in 'extremely bearish' territory at the time of writing, coupled with 'normal' levels of retail chatter.

TSLA stock is down 16% year-to-date. 

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