Buffalo Bayou | Credit: Bryan Malloch

This is an open letter from City of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner to Tesla CEO Elon Musk inviting him to relocate and expand his business operations in Houston.

Dear Elon,

Like so many others, I was pleased to hear that you are considering Texas as a potential location for the new Tesla headquarters and manufacturing facility. It’s important for Houston to share the unique opportunity our city could provide as an ideal location for the consolidation of Tesla and SpaceX operations, making it the location of your first global campus. 

Our city’s long-standing history of industrial innovation and corporate collaboration offers unmatched advantages for production and growth, and our large consumer market provides direct access to a valuable customer base. 

Houston is a leading global city where collaboration to solve the problems that matter is routine – a man on the moon, the first artificial heart, the transition of the energy industry to a lower-carbon future. As we continue our industrial evolution, I invite you to play a leading role in our story. As the only U.S market that can immediately meet the production needs of Tesla and SpaceX, Houston provides a single solution for your operations. 

Houston offers a broad innovative ecosystem in which industries converge to solve the world’s greatest challenges in energy, manufacturing, logistics, and space. For example, energy companies are working to transition to new fueling technologies for the auto industry, driving daily competition to be the first to market; and subsea oil and gas drilling techniques are being used to better understand how to build products to withstand lunar environments. In addition, Houston’s corporate commitment to establish itself as the “Clean” Energy Capital of World means local government is committed to finding low-carbon, sustainable solutions for powering our city fleets that keep our economy moving and residents safe. 

With success rooted in our diverse and skilled talent base and powered by a workforce of nearly 3.5 million, our expertise is ideal across a range of industries. As the fourth largest city in the nation, Houston’s cost of living is below the national average which makes it easy to attract and retain top talent. The 22 Fortune 500 headquarters operating here benefit from unparalleled access to global markets and an exceptional quality of life. Our diverse manufacturing base produces more than $82 billion in products annually and boasts one of the largest industrial workforces in the country. Finally, our central geographic location and extensive distribution channels, including two international airports and the top exporting port in the U.S., make Houston an ideal hub for the global distribution of Tesla vehicles and SpaceX products, and the import of supplies from around the world. 

I welcome the opportunity to further discuss the benefits of consolidating your companies in our region and more formally introduce you to the benefits of doing business in our great city. I am available to connect at your earliest convenience and look forward to welcoming you to Houston in the coming weeks. 
 
Regards, 

Mayor Sylvester Turner