With competition from California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, Elon Musk, the CEO of Bay Area-based Tesla Motors, chose the Silver State to build his much sought after $5 billion battery "giga factory."
"State officials scheduled a news conference at 4 p.m. Thursday in Carson City to announce the plant," writes Mike Ramsey of The Wall Street Journal. "Tesla earlier this year began developing a site near Reno, Nev., though the company had said it was possible other states could still compete for the project," he adds.
Nevada likely offered Tesla one of the largest incentive packages in the history of the U.S. auto industry to lure the factory to a state with relatively little presence in automotive manufacturing."
The payoff will be enormous though for Nevada for securing the $5 billion battery factory. Tesla will "employ up to 6,500 workers and produce 35 gigawatt hours of battery cells annually in its so-called gigafactory," adds Ramsey.
In addition to the incentives, Nevada also offers Tesla "ready access to lithium, a key raw material for the batteries." However, one analyst stated that "the single most important factor is the [site's] low-cost green power,"
Reno offers Tesla choices among solar, wind and geothermal energy for the plant. He also said Nevada's lack of corporate and personal income taxes aided its selection.
"Karl Brauer, an industry analyst with Kelley Blue Book, says a carmaker making its own batteries is an even bigger deal for the auto industry because the battery pack is the most expensive part of producing an electric car and it's the one that car manufacturers previously - who've produced electric vehicles - have had the least control over," writes Sonari Glinton, NPR Business Desk reporter. "They've been basically at the mercy of battery makers."
Not all analysts are optimistic on Tesla's investment though. "(B)attery industry researchers and executives have been skeptical of Tesla's plan for the factory," writes Ramsey. "On Wednesday, Lux Research, issued a report estimating that the gigafactory would have 57% overcapacity in 2020 as sales of Tesla vehicles will be less than half of what the company is forecasting."
No word as to whether Musk held out for changing the state nickname from silver to lithium.
Correspondent's note: Subscriber-only content to Wall Street Journal article will be available to non-subscribers for up to seven days after Sept. 04.
FULL STORY: Tesla to Choose Nevada for Battery Factory

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie