Tesla Picks Nevada For Battery Gigafactory

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Electric carmaker Tesla, announced on September 3 its plans to build its giant battery factory in Nevada after a five-state competition. The announcement was not formally issued until September 4. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said previously that the winning state would be expected to provide a tax incentives worth about $400 million, a level that would require legislative action in Nevada.

The so-called "gigafactory" will make advanced batteries expected to power Tesla's next generation of electric cars, as well as have capacity to supply batteries for other carmakers and other battery users, such as utilities. Tesla and partner Panasonic have said they plan to spend $4 billion to $5 billion on the project and employ up to 6,500 at full production.

The plant has been one of the nation's most highly sought-after projects among state economic development officials.

Robert Aguirre, North America Fleet Development Manager for Tesla Motors, is slated to provide a company update for attendees of NAFA's 2014 International Fleet Academy on the last day of the event, November 7. The conference takes place November 5-7 at the Rosen Shingle Creek resort in Orlando, FL. These latest developments will surely be a topic of interest to attendees of the conference.

Tesla recently confirmed that it has been excavating at an industrial park near Reno, but stopped short of saying that it had made it the final choice for plant. In choosing Nevada, Tesla has picked a location just a few hundred miles from its main assembly plant in Fremont, CA, and its nearby corporate headquarters in Palo Alto.

Nevada is offering Tesla a mix of tax abatements and other incentives expected to be worth about $1.25 billion over the next twenty years. The price tag began to generate widespread criticism even before Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval and Tesla CEO Elon Musk staged their official announcement ceremony at the Carson City capital. Declaring the news a "monumental announcement," the governor set out to deflect criticism by focusing on the huge number of jobs that would be created even before the world’s largest battery plant opens, arguing that the payoff would be $100 billion in economic activity for Nevada over the next two decades.

 

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