Apple says it has begun construction of its $1B Austin, Texas office campus, opening in 2022, as Trump tours the nearby Mac Pro production plant
owned by a company called Flex, not Apple itself — has been producing the Mac Pro since 2013. Here's the article from 2013. https://www.statesman.com/... pic.twitter.com/1Qdzw7gkEM Alex Kantrowitz / @kantrowitz : What's Apple's lobbying budget again? Oh, only $6 million+ per year. https://twitter.com/... John Paczkowski / @johnpaczkowski : Reminder: The plant Trump is touring today is NOT new, is NOT operated by Apple and has been assembling Mac Pros since 2013. https://twitter.com/... Steven Portnoy / @stevenportnoy : Trump was supposed to depart for a trip to TX more than half-an-hour ago ... Reporters are still waiting for him on the South Lawn ... Weston Loyd / @westonloyd45 : Tomorrow, @POTUS @realDonaldTrump will be in Austin, TX, to tour @Apple's new plant with @tim_cook, @IvankaTrump, & @stevenmnuchin1 where Mac Pros will be #MadeInTheUSA | h/t @PhilPrazan @KXAN_News https://www.kxan.com/... Casey Newton / @caseynewton : Coming soon to AppleTV+: Construction Site Surveillance Cam https://twitter.com/...
9to5MacBen Lovejoy
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the first physical milestone on an eighteen-month arc: Apple announced the $1B Austin campus for 5,000 workers back in December 2018, and the White House confirmed Trump's plant tour just three days before ground broke. The timing matters because reporters on the trip flagged that the facility being showcased is not actually Apple's — Flex has assembled the Mac Pro there since 2013, and Alex Kantrowitz noted Apple spends over $6M a year on lobbying.
First-order effects
Apple converts a year-old announcement into visible construction activity at precisely the moment a presidential visit puts its US footprint on camera, while the tour itself showcases a Flex-operated plant Apple neither owns nor runs.
Second-order effects
Flex gets public validation as the actual operator of Apple's flagship American assembly line, strengthening its position as the go-to contract manufacturer for brands that need US production without owning factories.
Rival tech companies now see the template: pairing real domestic investment with White House optics buys goodwill cheaply relative to the capital already committed.
The trend: Big Tech's domestic investment commitments are increasingly staged as political currency, with Apple converting campus announcements into White House photo opportunities and, over time, into real manufacturing relocation.
President Trump just toured a Texas plant that has been making Apple computers since 2013 and took credit for it, suggesting the plant opened today. “Today is a very special day.” Tim Cook spoke immediately after him and did not correct the record.
Apple today did announce “the start of construction” of a nearby, previously announced $1 billion Texas campus. Those offices are expected to open in 2022 with about 5,000 white-collar workers. They are not expected to include manufacturing jobs. https://www.apple.com/...
Tim Cook on his conversations with Trump: “I don't believe in having people talk on my behalf. I don't believe in lobbyists. I believe in direct conversation. I strongly believe in engagement. I hate polarization. I despise it.” https://abcnews.go.com/...
I don't know why @tim_cook didn't correct the president. I do know that Apple assembles most of its products in China, making many potentially subject to tariffs. I also know @tim_cook wants tariff waivers. When asked today about it, Mr. Trump said: “We'll look into that.”
The construction of our new Austin campus is underway and the assembly line for Mac Pro is up and running! Building Apple's most powerful Mac ever in Austin is a testament to the enduring power of American ingenuity, and we're proud it's made here. https://www.apple.com/...
.@Apple, one of the early signers of our #PledgetoAmericasWorkers, supports 2.4 Million jobs across ALL 50 states. Tomorrow @POTUS & CEO Tim Cook will be visiting one of Apple's major expansions at a new manufacturing site in Austin, TX. Looking forward! https://cbsaustin.com/...
“Cook said they have never been asked in China by authorities to unlock an iPhone, but added, referring to the U.S., ‘I have here.’” $AAPL https://abcnews.go.com/...
Apple's willingness to take part in this charade is unreal. Come on, Apple, you spend a lot of money and time and thought cultivating your brand, don't throw it out as a lifeline to a president drowning in scandal. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Meanwhile very disappointed in @tim_cook today who has been a positive leader in many other cases. Allowing his company to be a tool of disinformation in exchange for corporate profits isn't on brand for Apple. cc @profgalloway @karaswisher https://twitter.com/...
Trump is taking credit for an Apple plant that opened under Obama. Apple CEO did not correct him and let him get away with it. This may be your biggest sacrifice in the resistance: please consider buying a PC instead of a MAC. https://twitter.com/...
Here's my analysis on the bizarre scene today in Texas: The president played up a six-year-old factory as evidence of his three-year-old presidency's success. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Hey @tim_cook if you despise polarization, then don't participate in campaign events like today's, and especially don't go along with lies like Trump pretending that the long-running Flextronics factory toured today is a new Apple facility. Don't be party to lies & propaganda. ht…
I mean, if someone were to wake up from a coma having not witnessed any of the past five years or so and see this, they'd think this was objectively insane. https://twitter.com/...
1. It's not an Apple plant 2. It was not just opened today 3. Apple has been manufacturing Mac Pros in Austin since 2013 4. It's not bringing back any new jobs https://twitter.com/...
Trump didn't “open” this plant. Apple *has* just broken ground on a new campus in Austin, but the plant he visited — owned by a company called Flex, not Apple itself — has been producing the Mac Pro since 2013. Here's the article from 2013. https://www.statesman.com/... pic.twit…
Tomorrow, @POTUS @realDonaldTrump will be in Austin, TX, to tour @Apple's new plant with @tim_cook, @IvankaTrump, & @stevenmnuchin1 where Mac Pros will be #MadeInTheUSA | h/t @PhilPrazan @KXAN_News https://www.kxan.com/...