Hard hit since the 2008 crisis, the Reno region is reborn thanks to Tesla. Since the electric car manufacturer decided to install it his first Gigafactory, jobs and housing are lacking in northern Nevada: more than 34,500 jobs were created between 2014 and 2017, 44% of which were directly related to the giant Tesla plant, according to a Nevada Office of Economic Development report , published in early December. In 2018, Tesla’s impact on the local economy is estimated at nearly $ 3.6 billion, according to the same report.
Desert and wild horses
Public subsidies have certainly not been foreign to Tesla’s choice. In 2014, the local government offered him $ 1.3 billion in grants over 20 years to settle in the middle of the desert and wild horses. With some conditions.
Among them, invest at least $ 5 billion, create 6,500 direct jobs by the end of 2018, with an average salary of $ 27.35 per hour. Objectives (almost) all exceeded: at the end of June, Tesla and its partners had already invested 6 billion. The California firm had 7,059 employees in the plant, plus 5,000 employees from its suppliers on site. Only hourly wages, at $ 25.8, were below expectations.
“Salaries are competitive,” says Chris Lister, the director of operations of the Gigafactory. “But this place has many other benefits, such as infrastructure or nature: we are close to Lake Tahoe! In fact, other technology companies in the Bay are starting to arrive. “
Grumbling in local population
Apple and Google have announced investments , and companies like Switch, Jet.com or Blockchains, have opened facilities there. “It’s a challenge because we now have competition to recruit,” said Chris Lister. The grumbling would even begin to rise in the local population. “Nobody wants the region to become a new Silicon Valley, with prices at the top,” said a resident of Reno.
According to the local press For lack of housing, some newcomers are forced to sleep in their car, on parking lots. Tesla, which provides transportation to its employees from various cities in the state, thinks about offering them affordable housing. The ransom of success.