Thursday, September 11, 2014

Here Comes Tesla To Nevada

Image result for picture of tesla car
The lawmakers in Nevada have approved all the tax breaks needed to bribe Tesla, the electric car maker, to build a huge battery plant near Reno.
From the Reno Gazette Journal:
It's a deal.
The Nevada Legislature late Thursday approved the $1.25 billion deal brokered by Gov. Brian Sandoval to bring Tesla Motors' $5 billion battery gigafactory to Northern Nevada.
Both the Senate and Assembly unanimously approved the deal, strung together with four bills including the marquee measure, Senate Bill 1. Sandoval then signed the legislation by 10:17 p.m. Thursday, sealing the deal.
SB1 gives Tesla about $1.25 billion in tax abatements in exchange for Tesla investing $3.5 billion in the state within the first 10 years of the agreement. It passed the Senate with a 21-0 vote.
No senator spoke about the bill before the vote was taken, except for Senate Majority Leader Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas. A handful of Assembly members spoke in favor of the legislation before the final vote was taken.
The magnitude of the deal was not lost of lawmakers. Many see the agreement just the beginning of a huge change in Northern Nevada that will affect the region's infrastructure, including roads and schools.  http://www.rgj.com/story/news/2014/09/11/end-sight-tesla-deal-passes-senate-assembly-next/15494329/?con
Will this be a good deal for Nevada?  I honestly don't know and we won't know for years to come.
In the beginning, Nevada will take a hit before Tesla, but what happens when things go bad?
The economy may tank and the expensive car sales will go way down, then what happens if Tesla walks away from the factory?
What happens if they hire only a small fraction of employees Tesla and the factory is smaller than expected?
In the perfect world, this will be great for Nevada.
However, Nevada and local governments have fell for projects that seem too good to be true and these projects have failed.
Hopefully, this project will work and many other factories and businesses will follow Tesla.
Time will tell.

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