New Mexico, Arizona Vying To Win Tesla Factory
New Mexico’s governor said she is considering a special legislative session to help her state win a Tesla Motors factory.
Gov. Susana Martinez said her office is evaluating the session to complete a package of economic incentives to help make New Mexico more appealing to Tesla.
New Mexico is competing with Arizona, Nevada and Texas to become the home of a lithium-ion battery factory Tesla is planning. The electric car company says it plans to invest $2 billion in the 10-million square foot factory, which is expected to cost a total of $4 billion to $5 billion.
Tesla expects the plant to produce enough batteries to supply a half-million vehicles by 2020. The company expects to produce 35,000 vehicles this year.
Martinez is not saying what New Mexico plans to do to lure Tesla, but does credit tax changes the state has already made as putting it in the running for the plant.
Business leaders here in Arizona are also developing plans to win the plant, but few details of what they would do have been released.
