Tesla will open a regional distribution center in Fountain Inn in Greenville County, S.C. in early 2024, another promising development in support of the booming automotive and EV economy of the Upstate and South Carolina. The center is believed to mark Tesla’s first major investment in operations in South Carolina.

The inaugural Tesla facility in the Palmetto State will be situated in Fox Hill Business Park — the celebrated Class A business and industrial park which came online in 2020 as the first major business park developed in Greenville County in well over a decade.

Fox Hill Business Park, located on 172 acres in the City of Fountain Inn, is being developed by  The Sudler Companies, a family- and veteran-owned and operated development firm based in Chatham, New Jersey.  The Tesla facility in Greenville County will mark the second such venture between Tesla and The Sudler Companies in 2023, the duo having announced a similar project near Tampa, Florida in 2023.

“Tesla’s commitment to Fox Hill Business Park in Greenville County is a testament to the continued strength of our company’s partnership with Tesla and to the indisputable drivers that make the park and the Upstate a force in the logistics world,” said Brian Sudler, Principal with The Sudler Companies. “Access to world-class labor, a friendly business environment, quality of life and proximity to more than 90 million people within one day’s drive combine to make Greenville County the vital and dynamic area it is known to be.”

Tesla’s work in Greenville will focus strictly on distribution of vehicle parts regionally and will not include manufacturing, officials report. Tesla will absorb all of Fox Hill’s Building 3, comprised of 251,100 square feet. Depending on final development strategies, the Fox Hill Business Park campus can accommodate up to 2.5 million square feet of manufacturing, distribution, and warehousing activity across multiple buildings.

Total investment and planned job additions by Tesla have not been made public. Late in 2023, Tesla posted a hiring notice for a Training Leader to support and train employees at the new facility in Greenville County.

A company focused on accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy, Tesla is committed to building a world powered by solar energy, running on batteries, and transported by electric vehicles that charge with clean energy. Tesla vehicles are rated among the safest in the world while its engineers are committed to making Tesla vehicles that are “the most fun you could possibly have in a vehicle.” Tesla operates six vertically integrated factories across three continents and employs over 100,000 employees who design, build, sell and service Tesla products in-house.

The Tesla announcement is the latest major announcement for Fox Hill, which also saw the recent addition of Sage Parts Plus, a global leader in replacement parts for aviation ground support equipment. Sage Parts opened new distribution operations in Fox Hill Business Park in mid-2023, leasing a 103,049-square-foot building to accommodate distribution operations along with its new global headquarters that houses its leadership team, purchasing, finance, customer service, HR, product management, and other support departments.

Fox Hill Business Park features immediate access to I-385, I-85, the Inland Port, and Greenville Spartanburg International Airport. A short drive to the Port of Charleston and the Inland Port in Greer, it offers easy access to the booming Southeast’s hubs of industry and commerce.

The Sudler Companies are a vertically integrated development firm that includes construction and property management departments and owns and manages over 12 million square feet of commercial real estate across America.

“The addition of the Tesla brand to Greenville’s business ecosystem is another example of the important role that speculative development plays in today’s competitive environment, and exactly why Greenville County was so supportive of The Sudler Companies and Fox Hill Business Park,” said Kevin Landmesser, Interim CEO of the Greenville Area Development Corporation. “Our market is extremely strong thanks to quality investment by organizations like The Sudler Companies, and we will continue to support site development to attract more high-quality companies to Greenville County.”

“Tesla is changing the automotive industry in America and abroad,” Landmesser noted. “The addition of Tesla to Greenville County can help raise income levels for our area and create quality jobs. We welcome Tesla’s addition to our community.”

“We are excited that Tesla has chosen to call Fountain Inn home for their first facility in South Carolina,” stated City of Fountain Inn Mayor GP McLeer. “This facility will not only create local jobs that will support families, but it also helps many of our region’s existing suppliers get their products to one of the nation’s most innovative automotive companies more efficiently. We continue to be proud of our community’s expanding role in the automotive industry and are excited to see Tesla begin operations.” Since its founding in mid-2001, the GADC team’s efforts have resulted in the announcement of more than 34,600 new jobs and more than $6.6 billion in capital investment in Greenville County. To learn more, visit www.goGADC.com or call (864) 235-2008.  To learn more about workforce opportunities, visit www.jobsingreenvillesc.com.