The Tesla Cybertruck Gigafactory might end up in Missouri if one business leader has his way. The city of Joplin, Missouri, has offered land and an incentive package to Tesla in the race to secure the new factory.
Last week, CEO Elon Musk announced that Tesla is scouting locations in the central US for a new gigafactory dubbed “Cybertruck Gigfactory.”
The CEO plans for Tesla to produce its new electric pickup truck called the Cybertruck, as well as Model Y vehicles for demand coming from the East Coast.
Musk didn’t elaborate on where specifically in the central US Tesla is currently scouting, but the CEO previously mentioned a tri-state area and Texas as possible locations for a second vehicle manufacturing facility in the US.
Several reports also stated that the Nashville area is in talks with Tesla.
Now Joplin, which is not far from St. Louis, is adding itself to the competition.
Toby Teeter, president of the Joplin Chamber of Commerce, has contacted Tesla with an offer already, and he told Musk on Twitter:
Joplin Chamber President here. I’m authorized to give you 100 acres in biz park at crossroads of I-44 and I-49 at the center of the USA, the historic home of battery tech, with four of the largest trucking companies in the world near here. Plus $50+ million in incentives.
Teeter hit some of the main factors that Tesla is interested in when it comes to finding a location for the Cybertruck Gigafactory.
In an email last week, Musk wrote:
Incentives play a role, but so do logistics costs, access to a large workforce with a wide range of talents, and quality of life.
The head of the chamber of commerce mentioned an incentive package and access to logistical infrastructure.
Several other state leaders have since also reached out to Musk and Tesla, including in Colorado and Arkansas.
Following the success of the Tesla Fremont factory and Tesla Gigafactory Nevada, where Tesla employs more than 10,000 people at each location, many areas have expressed interest in incentivizing Tesla to build a project in their region.
The automaker is believed to have received close to 500,000 reservations for the Cybertruck. Along with Model Y production for the East Coast, the Cybertruck Gigafactory is expected to be of similar scale as Tesla’s two other US manufacturing facilities.
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