Kickstart: Reading the Tesla tea leaves

Here's a mystery for you: What does automaker Tesla Inc. mean when it refers to a new construction project in Texas as simply "plastics"?

In a flurry of building plans filed with the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation in December 2022 and January 2023, the electric vehicle maker included a Dec. 20 filing for a $58 million, 174,979-square-foot project in Austin with a facility name of plastics, with no other details. The work will "complete interior finish out of the EV manufacturing facility" known as Giga, according to the filing.

Construction was to begin Dec. 27 and be complete by March 13.

Beyond that, not much is known. Tesla, like its leader Elon Musk, doesn't follow standard corporate communications processes like issuing news releases for projects, so it's hard to say if the company is actually planning a major plastics facility.

National media are likewise relying on filings with the state to cover overall expansion plans by Tesla in Austin worth $700 million. Language on those TDLR documents likewise refer to completing the EV manufacturing facility with no specifics.

Other Tesla investments at Giga involve a new wastewater interceptor, logistics yard and parking, according to the Austin Business Journal.

BASF Corp. has broken ground on an expansion in Geismar, La., that will see it expand capacity for MDI feedstock to 600,000 metric tons per year. The work also will make Geismar BASF's largest wholly owned investment in North America.

This expansion, first announced in July, will be the final stage of a $1 billion project, with $780 million of that work taking place between 2022 and 2025, BASF said in a news release.

Phase 1 began in 2018 with a new MDI synthesis unit that opened in 2020. The second phase expanded existing upstream units. The final phase adds new upstream units and a splitter, the company said.

There are a lot of "plastic-free life" blogs and articles out there. They rarely note that the very act of using a computer or cell phone to research, write or post the article relies, in fact, on plastics.

So it's heartening to see that A.J. Jacobs' story in The New York Times on attempting to live even one day without plastics begins by admitting he broke his rules within 10 seconds by putting his feet on his nylon carpet. Then there's another violation by using the toilet.

Even the "100 percent cotton" pants he picked turned out to have some plastics in the zipper, internal waistband and pockets, Jacobs writes.

His work to prepare for his attempt also thwarted his goals.

"Before my 'Day of No Plastic,' I immersed myself in a number of no-plastic and zero-waste books, videos and podcasts. One of the books, Life Without Plastic: The Practical Step-by-Step Guide to Avoiding Plastic to Keep Your Family and the Planet Healthy, … came from Amazon wrapped in clear plastic, like a slice of American cheese."

The article is quick to emphasize the importance of plastics in the medical industry, its ability to improve the carbon footprint of cars and planes and its use in appliances that last for decades. It's certain single-use plastics that are the real concern, he writes.