The Nevada lawmakers have approved a bill on Thursday providing Tesla Motors up to $1.3 billion in tax breaks and other incentives to build its battery factory within the state.
The Senate unanimously voted in favor of the bill as it can bring more than 20,000 jobs and up to $100 billion state revenue in the next 20 years. The bill exempts the electric car maker from paying property taxes or payroll taxes for up to 10 years, as well as the local sales or use taxes for up to 20 years.
"It's the heart and soul of the legislation that is going to get Tesla here," said Sen. Mark Hutchison, R-Las Vegas, to the Associated Press. "Everybody knows how important this is for the state of Nevada."
In exchange for the tax breaks, Tesla is expected to expend $3.5 billion in Nevada within 10 years. It is also mandatory that 50 percent of its gigafactory employees should be residents of the state.
Meanwhile, the state's auto dealers settled not to dispute on the plan that will allow Tesla to sell its electric cars to the residents.
"My car dealers want to assist in any way they can," lobbyist John Sande of Reno, who represents the Nevada Franchised Auto Dealers Association, said to USA Today. "Nevada law does not allow Tesla to come in and sell direct to the consumer, so we are going to have come in and change it so they can sell direct to the consumer."
Tesla CEO Elon Musk decided to build its massive factory in Nevada after reviewing all the offers of other states including Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California, according to Reuters. He chose Nevada because of the tax breaks and incentives which the state is willing to offer as part of its plan to revitalize its economy that hasn't fully recovered since the Great Recession.
"This is arguably the biggest thing that has happened in Nevada since at least the Hoover Dam," said Assemblyman Ira Hansen, a Republican from Sparks. The Hoover Dam, also known as the Boulder Dam, was constructed during the Great Depression to control floods, supply irrigation water and create hydroelectric power.
