Austin-based Reddit users are calling out the shocking amount of light pollution coming from Tesla's new Gigafactory in their Texas city.
The post from mid-May shows an alarming photo of the horizon at night. The skyline is dominated by a massive glow from the factory's lights.
"The light pollution from the Gigafactory is freaking nutty," wrote the original poster, whose snapshot revealed the factory's blazing illumination filling the dark sky above a local highway. The disturbingly bright lights spawned more than 100 comments from concerned Redditors.
The offending lights appeared to be stadium-style floodlights ringing the perimeter of the sprawling factory grounds. At night, their collective glare floods the sky, obscuring the stars and casting an eerie, unnatural glow across the landscape.
Light pollution can disorient and endanger migrating birds, which navigate by the moon and stars, and can interfere with the mating patterns of fireflies. It also interferes with people's sleep cycles, as many in the thread attested.
"I live in a neighborhood very close to it and had to get blackout curtains for my bedroom," one commenter wrote. "On cloudy nights it basically lights up the night sky brighter than a full moon. Sucks, because when I moved out there in 2020, it was pitch black nights."
While the Gigafactory's light pollution feels impossible to ignore, practical solutions exist. Shielding outdoor lights and pointing them downward, using lower-wattage bulbs, and turning off unnecessary lights can dramatically reduce sky glow.
Being mindful of our light usage at night is a simple way we can be good neighbors to wildlife and one another. Whether it's a major factory or our own back porch, each light makes a difference. Responsible lighting protects the environment, eliminates pollution, and lets us all enjoy the simple pleasure of an unadulterated night sky.
In this case, many commenters expressed frustration at the apparent lack of regulation of the factory's obtrusive lighting. It's unclear if adjustments will be made.
"Don't they need to comply with the Dark Sky Initiative?" one person asked, to which another replied, "As far as I'm aware, that's a movement, not a law."
"This feels illegal," someone else said.
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