Tesla received more than $151M in state tax benefits
Tesla Motors Inc. received more than $151 million worth of Nevada tax benefits last fiscal year, according to annual documents filed with the Governor’s Office of Economic development.
Tesla’s $5 billion Gigafactory in Storey County east of Reno is a joint project of the electric vehicle maker and the Panasonic Corp.
The dollar amount of the abatements in fiscal year 2017 totaled $114.99 million and the dollar amount of transferable tax credits used by Tesla was just over $36.8 million. The transferable tax credits were purchased by Nevada resorts to offset part of their gambling license fees.
As of Oct. 1, Tesla and Panasonic reported they had 1,335 total Nevada residents working at the plant — 896 for Tesla Motors and 439 for Panasonic Electronics North America.
Tesla estimates about 6,500 workers will be working at the Gigafactory by 2020.
State lawmakers awarded Tesla a tax incentive package in 2014 amounting to $1.2 billion in tax breaks to make a $3.5 billion capital investment in Nevada by 2024.
Nearly three years in, the company estimates a combined capital investment of $2.6 billion through June 30.
“Based on this investment, and observations of physical progress at the site, GOED has determined for fiscal year 2017 that Tesla is making satisfactory progress towards meeting the investment requirements necessary to maintain its status as a qualified project,” the report states.
Tesla plans to expand the Gigafactory in modular units as demand grows for the lithium ion batteries produced at the plant.
Contact Nicole Raz at nraz@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512. Follow @JournalistNikki on Twitter.
