Electric-car plant parks elsewhere
It wasn't much of a shock.
Tesla Motors, a California start-up automotive company, put the brakes on proposals from North Carolina and chose Albuquerque, N.M., instead, for its first car plant. The plant will employ 400 people and cost $35 million, according to a news release from the New Mexico governor's office.
The News & Record previously reported that Tesla had received numerous proposals from developers throughout this state. A 600-acre site, owned by Samet Corp., was thought to be on Tesla's short list.
That site, just inside Mebane, is a remnant from the 1,200-acre property offered to Mercedes-Benz in 1993 for a production plant. The German car maker also opted to build elsewhere.
Tesla, based in San Carlos, Calif., has yet to put a car on the road. The company, which focuses on completely electric cars, will start production of its sporty 2008 Roadster overseas later this year. The production facility announced today is meant to put out a less expensive passenger sedan, currently called the White Star.
The New Mexico governor's office reports that jobs at Tesla's facility will pay between $24,000 and $100,000 a year and include benefits and stock options.
Tesla chief executive Martin Eberhard told the News & Record last month that North Carolina had been downgraded on the company's list of options in favor of locations in California, Arizona and New Mexico. These states, Eberhard said, are more convenient for the company's suppliers.
But one has to wonder how much Tesla's decision reflects the supply chain - and how much it has to do with New Mexico's efforts to sweeten the pot.
The state threw in incentives including a high-wage job tax credit, a manufacturer's investment tax credit and assistance from the state's job training incentive program. The governor's office did not put total numbers on the incentives bundle, but the news release did say that Richardson has earmarked $7 million to go toward the Tesla facility this year and during 2008.
Additionally, Richardson is giving Tesla the chance to work on 2008 legislation to create incentives for buyers of clean-energy vehicles, including electric cars like the Roadster and White Star. The state is considering putting 100 of the new Tesla sedans into its fleet, according to the news release.
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