Gary Zhou 
Tesla’s massive Giga Fest event planned for April 7 at Gigafactory Texas is officially under review by the Travis County Fire Marshal’s office. If approved, it will then be voted on by the Travis County Commissioners Court.
The Travis County Fire Marshal’s Office confirmed to Teslarati that it received Tesla’s application for a Mass Gathering Permit in Travis Country. The Fire Marshal also said it is currently under review.
If approved, the Permit will then make it to the Travis County Commissioners Court, where members will vote to approve or deny Tesla’s request. Last week, three Mass Gathering Permits were filed for an Austin Energy event, the Luck Reunion Festival, and for the Austin Crawfish Festival. All three permits were unanimously approved, so things look good for Tesla.
Travis County Commissioners Court could vote on the event as soon as next Tuesday, March 8. A public hearing will first be held. Then, the County Commissioner’s office will either approve or deny the Permit. The meeting must be held within 15 business days of Tesla’s filing date, which is likely February 18, based on Tweets from CEO Elon Musk. The agenda for this meeting has not yet been announced.
Tesla initially scheduled the event for April 1. However, Musk quickly revised the date to April 7. The likely reason for the quick shift in the event’s timing, which changed in about three hours, was the guidelines for an event’s approval. Musk Tweeted that April 1 would be the date, not realizing that the application must be received at least 45 days before the event. At the time of Musk’s Tweet, which was sent late on February 18, there were only 42 days until April 1. Musk shifted the date of the event back one week to abide by the Fire Marshal’s 45-day policy. The April 7 date made it 48 days.
Travis County requires any entity outside city limits to apply for a Mass Gathering Permit. A mass gathering is considered any event that is expected to attract more than 2,500 people, or more than 500 people if at least 51 percent of the attendees will be under 21 and there will be alcohol sold, served, or consumed. It also defines the event as anything that will be more than five hours long, and any event that may take place between 10 pm or 4 am.
Teslarati is developing more details, including the number of people Tesla would like at the event, which the company had to outline on the permit application. More information will be added as the story develops.
