US$5 billion project to contribute US$1.9 billion to state

Tesla Motors has selected Nevada as the site for its mammoth lithium-ion battery plant undefined known as the Gigafactory undefined quashing the hopes of California, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas.

The stakes were high. The US$5 billion project is expected to employ up to 6,500 workers when complete and have a $1.9-billion “total fiscal impact” over 20 years, lawmakers said at a press conference in Carson City, Nev.

“Tesla will build the world’s largest and most advanced battery factory in Nevada which means nearly one hundred billion dollars in economic impact to the Silver State over the next twenty years,” Nevada’s Governor Brian Sandoval said in a statement.

While California scrambled to pass legislation that would make the state a more attractive option to the carmaker, Tesla broke ground on a site outside of Reno, Nev. called Tahoe Reno Industrial Center.

Unlike with Texas and Arizona, Nevada allows direct sales of automobiles from a manufacturer, eliminating the middleman or car dealerships. Further, Nevada has the country’s only active lithium mine and the best prospective reserves of new supply, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal. And without the environmental restrictions of neighboring state California, Nevada came up as the winner.

Tesla will produce batteries in conjunction with Japan’s Panasonic. The first batteries are expected to be ready in three years, coinciding with the launch of Tesla’s Model 3, a $40,000 electric car. Tesla’s main assembly plant is located in Fremont, Calif., about 235 miles from the planned Gigafactory.

Nevada will provide about US$400 million in tax incentives, including up to a 100 percent tax abatement for the next 20 years for all sales tax, and up to a 100 percent tax abatement for the next 10 years for all real property tax, personal property tax and modified business tax.

*NEWS SOURCE