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TESLA CRYSTAL SUN: Fort Bend County, TX - September 20th, 2026
It was a sunny day with a few scattered clouds on Sunday, so I drove over to Fort Bend County and flew over the proposed Crystal Sun Solar Factory site, and then the brand new Ørsted Old 300 Megapack site. Both are within a 10 minute drive of each.
The video is in 2 parts and here is some info on the two sites.
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PART 1: CRYSTAL SUN
Tesla’s Project Crystal Sun is a proposed $10.1 billion solar cell and module factory in Fort Bend County, Texas, off FM 762 and FM 1994 near Richmond, on about 3,050 acres inside Lamar CISD. The plant would make cells and modules in-house (ingot through module).
Construction is targeted 2026–2028, with production Q1 2029. Filing lists 1,147 construction jobs and 9,712 permanent jobs by 2033.
Tesla filed for JETI tax incentives July 22nd, and say it is still choosing between this site and another U.S. location. Lamar CISD voted 7-0 on September 15th to approve a 10-year school tax limitation. State JETI approval is still pending.
PART II: ØRSTED OLD 300 TESLA MEGAPACK SITE
This Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) is located 10 minutes southeast of Crystal Sun in nearby Needville.
The published project rating is 250 MW / 500 MWh. I count 166 Megapacks which would be closer to 315 MW / 639 MWh. It reached commercial operations on August 5th, 2026, and is fully connected to the ERCOT grid.
The site sits next to Ørsted’s 430 MW Old 300 Solar farm. The solar plant started operating in October 2024, uses bifacial single-axis tracking panels, and generates enough electricity for roughly 80,000 Texas homes and businesses. Microsoft holds a 2021 power purchase agreement for the solar output.
The Megapacks and solar farm share the site but run independently. The Megapacks can charge from or discharge to the wider ERCOT grid, not only from the adjacent solar array.
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S.E. Robinson, Jr. retweeted
My Starbase Louisiana SpaceX town hall notes!
Roads: Bridge work is the first priority, with road upgrades coming soon. Once construction starts, they plan to bus contract workers in to reduce traffic.
About 40,000 acres will be developed. SpaceX says it is committed to keeping the other two-thirds accessible to the public for hunting and fishing.
More specifically, expect limited access south of Humble Canal.
Why 40,000 acres? One reason: some pads will be operational while others are still being built. That means more spacing between pads.
They do not anticipate structural damage to homes in Pecan Island, and say they will work with residents if it becomes necessary.
Target: 10,000 launches a year. Expect most activity around sunrise and sunset.
First permits should start showing up soon.
Starship will be manufactured on site.
There will not be one contractor in charge. There will be many, with SpaceX keeping the lead.
Contractors are held to a high standard and will have to keep earning their spot on this site.
Biggest takeaway: SpaceX is humble. Always wanting to learn, and not claiming to have all the answers.
They are leaning on experts in Vermilion Parish for wetland and wildlife knowledge while developing the largest spaceport in history.
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S.E. Robinson, Jr. retweeted
Last night was surreal.
After years in commercial transportation, getting to be part of the @tesla_semi launch is something I won’t forget.
Proud of this team. Proud of what we’re building.
Now the real work starts. Let’s get these trucks on the road.
@larsmoravy @danWpriestley
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2 GigaWatts of compute!
SpaceX's supercomputing facilities in the Mid-South rank among the world’s most advanced AI training clusters, spanning over 2.5 million feet, millions of GPUs, and over two gigawatts of compute → spacex.com/Mid-South
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I will be dropping content for a while from the Tesla Semi Rollout, and I want to give a massive shoutout to Jason Gies (@jngies) Tesla Semi Business Dev Lead. If for not him, I would have missed out on this historic event. Big thank you, Jason. It was mind-blowing!
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Subscribe to @SERobinsonJr and help support his amazing work.
Inside the Tesla Semi Factory. Full tour video with Plant Manager Rod Rayl (@RRaylSFNV), including interview with Dan Priestley (@danWpriestley), soon!
You better Subscribe on X and YouTube! 😉
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S.E. Robinson, Jr. retweeted
Thanks to @SpaceX for hosting a town hall meeting for Vermilion Parish tonight, and patiently answering every question submitted. We’ll post an update in the morning with new details.
Also, thanks to Mark Soltys for the picture with Luke and Lena!
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When you leave the Tesla Semi Rollout and see a Tesla Semi already on the highway 👀
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S.E. Robinson, Jr. retweeted
At the SpaceX town hall in Vermilion Parish. Rocking my @SERobinsonJr merch.
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Inside the Tesla Semi Factory. Full tour video with Plant Manager Rod Rayl (@RRaylSFNV), including interview with Dan Priestley (@danWpriestley), soon!
You better Subscribe on X and YouTube! 😉
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