9:45 p.m. -- California's Tesla Disappointment Sparks Debate Exchange
By: Ben Adler
Electric car maker Tesla’s announcement that it will build a battery factory in Nevada drew a sharp exchange in Thursday night’s California gubernatorial debate.
Republican challenger Neel Kashkari said Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown did not do nearly enough for Tesla – or other companies that have picked other states over California.
“Gov. Brown frequently says, well, businesses come and go. It’s not businesses coming and going. It’s Tesla. It’s Toyota. It’s Schwab. It’s Nestle. On and on – and they’re all going,” Kashkari said.
The governor defended California’s efforts to lure the battery factory and added that Tesla has chosen to build its electric cars at a Bay Area manufacturing plant.
“It’s pretty clear what happened. We fought hard for Tesla, but Tesla wanted a massive cash up-front payment that I don’t think would be fair to the taxpayers of California,” said Brown.
The Brown administration and lawmakers from both parties pulled the plug last week on a bill that would have given Tesla tax incentives to build its factory in California.
Original Story (AP) -- Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval is asking state legislators to approve tax breaks and other incentives worth up to $1.3 billion over 20 years to bring Tesla Motors' battery factory to the state.
Tesla wants to build the massive, $5 billion factory at an industrial park near the Reno suburb of Sparks - as long as lawmakers agree to terms Sandoval negotiated with the electric car maker.
The ultimate cost to taxpayers depends on how much economic activity the factory generates.
Steve Hill, executive director of Sandoval's Office of Economic Development, said that at the low end, the incentives could be worth $865 million.
Hill projected the factory would generate $100 billion for Nevada's economy and create 22,000 new jobs over two decades.
Sandoval will call a special legislative session to approve the package as early as Wednesday.
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