Tesla could face lawsuit over property appraisal

AUSTIN, Texas – Tesla could be heading to court over its Gigafactory headquarters after getting more than $1 billion slashed from its appraised property value.

This comes after the company challenged its appraisal and reduced the property’s worth by more than $1 billion.

The backstory:

In July, the Tesla Gigafactory was originally appraised by the Travis Central Appraisal District at $4.6 billion. The company disputed the value, leading to a new value of $3.4 billion by the Travis Appraisal Review Board.

Nevin Kamath is with Resist Austin, a group that describes themselves as using nonviolent civil resistance to reach a future without President Donald Trump in power.

“They are not holding up their share of the bargain with Travis County. Now they’re trying to get out of paying taxes. And it’s not clear to me yet whether they deserve to get that sort of tax break,” said Kamath.

The review board, made up of Travis County property owners, volunteers their time to address these challenges.

But last week, the TCAD board of directors authorized chief appraiser Leana Mann to file a lawsuit if necessary to uphold what they believe is a fair value.

Mann sent FOX 7 a statement saying, “The core foundation of the property tax system is that every property owner pays their fair share of the tax burden. When a decision by the appraisal review board undermines that premise, the district has an obligation to all Travis County property owners to fight for fairness and equity in the system.” 

“Ultimately, I think this demonstrates a few things. One, that Tesla is not necessarily the most trustworthy corporate citizen in that it may be trying potentially to game the system,” said Kamath.

Tesla began construction on the Gigafactory back in 2020. The company is already set to receive more than $60 million in tax breaks over the next decade in exchange for a promised $1.1 billion investment.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Tesla shareholders filed a separate lawsuit against the company, claiming its Robotaxis operated unsafely and violated traffic laws.

TCAD expects to receive official word from the appraisal board soon on the property’s final value.

Once that arrives, they’ll have 60 days to decide whether to file a lawsuit.

“I want Tesla to pay their fair share, whatever that is. And I do trust the duly elected people, the officials of Travis County, to determine that. And so, if they feel that it’s necessary to go forward with a lawsuit, I would probably support them,” Kamath said. 

FOX 7 Austin reached out to Tesla for comment, but has yet to hear back.