Tesla Picks Nevada for New Battery Factory (Imperial: credit, construction jobs)

[shooting4life]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

So, OP--where will Tesla get their skilled workers for the new plant? Someone from Nevada posted on another sub-forum here that there's a shortage of skilled workers in NV. Seems AZ or CA would have been a better bet in that regard.

Back in the old days people moved to where the work is.

They should have a problems getting the people needed for manufacturing (this isn't exactly R&D) as long as the compensation package is competitive.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by shooting4life

Back in the old days people moved to where the work is.

They should have a problems getting the people needed for manufacturing (this isn't exactly R&D) as long as the compensation package is competitive.

Yeah, back in the day, people did that. They don't do that anymore. Bill Gates moved Microsoft to Seattle in part because he couldn't get the workers he needed in NM. Not too many people wanted to move to Albuquerque. And recently someone posted here that Weyerhauser moved from Federal Way to Seattle, because no one wanted to live in Federal Way...?? These stories are hard to believe, but apparently they're true.

So...good luck, Tesla.

[shooting4life]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Yeah, back in the day, people did that. They don't do that anymore. Bill Gates moved Microsoft to Seattle in part because he couldn't get the workers he needed in NM. Not too many people wanted to move to Albuquerque. And recently someone posted here that Weyerhauser moved from Federal Way to Seattle, because no one wanted to live in Federal Way...?? These stories are hard to believe, but apparently they're true.

So...good luck, Tesla.

Tech and manufacturing are two very different things.

If the tech sector was doing really bad in the Bay Area and they were hiring a bunch of tech positions in other states people would move. It is just hard to get people to move when they have lots of options where they are.

[Blackhawk4440]

I would assume that Tesla chose Nevada because the deserts are better places for testing cars.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Blackhawk4440

I would assume that Tesla chose Nevada because the deserts are better places for testing cars.

Not in the case of lith-ion battery cars. The batteries' mileage is severely reduced in extreme heat like you have in the desert. Same in snowy winter environments. The Bay Area has an ideal climate for the Teslas.

[Blackhawk4440]

Ruth:
It wouldn't really matter. In the desert, you can measure performance without competing with traffic.

[oldtrader]

That's thousands of more jobs added to Fremont in next few years. So much for job killing rules and regulations. CA is a winner regardless of where it went. Now if we can land the next gigafactory which CA is already said to aggressively pursue, that would be icing on the cake!

Have you ever seen the pictures of the assembly line for Tesla automobiles. It is the most highly automated factory in the country from appearances. It is a far cry from what I remember touring the auto factories in Michigan years ago. Lots of people then, but Tesla has found robots can replace most of the people.

Tesla Motors and the robots that build the Model S (pictures) - CNET

Peek Inside Tesla’s Robotic Factory | Autopia | WIRED

They are learning how to do it with robots. They now know how to do it with even more robots and fewer people, By the time they open the next auto factory, it will take very few people to run it compared to normal auto factories.

Why intelligent companies open factories in other states than California.

1: Takes 2 years or more to just get the permits to open a factory in California to to excessive bureaucracy. A few days in other states.

2: Millions of dollars to get the permits in California, a few thousand in other places.

3: Operating costs 40% less to operate a factory in Nevada, Texas, Arizona, etc. than in Los Angeles as an example. That 40% all goes to the bottom line, or allows them to sell their product much cheaper, and that alone will increase sales.

4: Corporate and business Taxes are much cheaper in other states, and in some other states corporate taxes non existent.

Those 4 reasons, that Apple is building it's new computer factory in Texas not California. The reason companies are taking the jobs from California to other states.

For months we see that California cheer leaders have been saying Tesla was opening their battery factory in California. Now we know they are not. Lets sit back and wait, to see where they open the new Tesla factory. The car is going to be much cheaper than the one they build now, and one way to hold costs down and sell cheaper is to put the factory where it will be cheaper to build it, just as they are doing with the battery factory.

[Blackhawk4440]

Oldtrader:
New York just offered a five-year tax amnesty to draw businesses to that state, having few takers and existing businesses are continuing to leave. There's more to the story than costs.

[shooting4life]

Originally Posted by Blackhawk4440

Oldtrader:
New York just offered a five-year tax amnesty to draw businesses to that state, having few takers and existing businesses are continuing to leave. There's more to the story than costs.

Or companies realize they will be in business more than 5 years

[eccotecc]

Nevada has the only lithium mine in the country, and Tesla is planning to manufacture lithium batteries. It makes sense to locate near the primary resource needed to manufacture the batteries.

http://www.rgj.com/story/news/2014/0...ustry/7354627/