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SpaceX secured a property tax abatement from Grimes County, Texas, on Wednesday for its proposed Terafab chip manufacturing facility, despite strong opposition from residents who raised concerns about environmental damage, strained local resources, and a lack of transparency from the company.
Both a reinvestment zone designation and a 100% property tax abatement cleared the Grimes County Commissioners Court by a 4-1 margin, covering a project SpaceX has put a $55 billion price tag on. Rather than paying property taxes, SpaceX agreed to hand Grimes County a $10 million lump sum at the outset, followed by annual payments of $20 million stretched across a 35-year term. Grimes County Commissioner David Tullos cast the lone dissenting vote.
The public hearing drew a crowd that overwhelmed the Grimes County Justice & Business Center in Anderson, with well over 100 attendees filling every seat and overflowing into the corridors outside. Among those who addressed the court, opponents and critics of the process outnumbered supporters by a wide margin. "This agreement is a disappointment, we could have achieved so much more," Tullos said. "This hasn't felt like a negotiation, it's felt like a capitulation."
