That's the way stuff works in our Brand New Obamaworld.
Everybody always knew that Tesla Motors' $5 billion gigafactory would be an expensive proposition for the state that won the deal. Until Thursday, it looked like the price tag would be $500 million, or 10 percent of the total expense.
Instead, it looks like Nevada is promising incentives of more than twice that much. The overall value of the package offered Tesla is estimated at $1.25 billion over the next 20 years.
The Reno Gazette-Journal called the offer “unprecedented in size and scope for the state of Nevada and is one of the largest in the country.” If approved, the package would be the 10th-largest offered by a state to convince a company to invest.
The paper broke the news this summer that permits had been granted for what turns out to be the foundation of Tesla’s monster plant, which will sprawl over 5 million square feet. Tesla says the gigafactory will produce up to 500,000 battery packs a year for its electric cars by 2020, employing 6,500 workers.
Long known for divorces and gambling, Reno, Nevada now could be known for Tesla.
If the legislature approves the package, Tesla will essentially operate tax free in Nevada for the first 10 years, according to the paper. At a news conference Thursday in Carson City, Tesla’s billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, called Nevada a “get things done state.”
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