AUSTIN, Texas — The Travis County Sheriff's Office (TCSO) says there was "no attacker or malicious intent" behind an early morning alert that led Tesla to evacuate employees from its gigafactory in far southeast Austin Friday.
KVUE Daybreak crews on the scene observed that workers had been evacuated from the building at around 5 a.m. Around that same time, Tesla Road was closed, with backups long the State Highway 130 toll road.
KVUE confirmed that Tesla workers received an email at around 5 a.m. stating, "There is an Active Attacker near column location 35Z at the Giga Factory Texas. Please take cover and stand by for further details."
At 5:17 a.m., Daybreak crews on the scene witnessed police arriving, telling everyone to leave the area immediately. Workers began running away.
The TCSO told KVUE at around 5:40 a.m. that it was in the process of clearing the building and that deputies were not hearing any gunshots. The TCSO reported no casualties and said there was nothing to substantiate evidence of a shooter.
Just after 6 a.m., hundreds of Tesla workers began reentering the building. KVUE confirmed at around 6:20 that workers had been given the all-clear to go back inside.
Tesla workers received an all-clear message that stated in part, "ALL CLEAR has been given. The situation is safe after Law Enforcement conducted a thorough sweep of the area."
As of just after 6 a.m., the exit to get on Tesla Road had also been reopened.
Just after 9 a.m., the TCSO told KVUE, "Our investigation has shown that there was no attacker or malicious intent behind this alert." The agency said it does not plan to provide any additional updates and all further questions regarding the incident will need to be directed toward Tesla.
No additional information is available at this time.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.