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Zoox begins true driverless rides in Vegas as first purpose-built robotaxi operating in Nevada

Less than five months after beginning completely driverless (and pedal-less) rides on public roads in California, Zoox has expanded operations to Nevada, beginning where else but fabulous Las Vegas. Nevada is quickly becoming a hub for robotaxis, but Zoox is captured a “first” in the Silver State thanks to its unique design.

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Tesla gets ~$20 million for the Gigafactory by selling tax credits to MGM Grand Casino [Updated]

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When Tesla inked a deal with the state of Nevada to build its giant battery factory near Reno, it was widely reported that Tesla received $1.3 billion in tax incentives. While the deal could be worth close to the amount over a 20-year period, it is not clear how much Tesla is currently getting from the state because it was awarded as sales and property tax abatements, transferable tax credits (TTC) and discounted electricity rates.

Through documents recently released by the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), we now learn that Tesla started profiting from transferable tax credits by selling around $20 million worth to MGM Grand Casino.
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Panasonic doubled its investment in the Tesla Gigafactory during the last quarter [Q1 2016 Activity Report]

Gigafactory march 2016 video

Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) published its Q1 2016 Quarterly Activity Report for the Tesla Gigafactory and judged the company’s progress to be satisfactory. You can read the full report embedded bellow.

The most interesting bit of information coming out of the report is the fact that Panasonic invested more in the plant during the last quarter than it did since the beginning of the project.
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Faraday Future breaks ground and reveals the details of its $1 billion EV factory

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Electric vehicle startup Faraday Future, also known as FF, is moving forward with its $1 billion factory in North Las Vegas, Nevada. The company is holding an official ground-breaking ceremony with state officials today – you can watch the stream below.

FF also released several new details about the factory and its features, as well as the concept rendering seen above.
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First glimpse inside Tesla’s Gigafactory [Video]

inside Tesla gigafactory

Tesla’s Gigafactory, which is located near Reno in Nevada, was busy with outsiders this week. After CEO Elon Musk and SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive organized an event Wednesday night for Nevada politicians and top government officials, today local media were given access and were even allowed to take a few pictures inside.
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Elon Musk and SolarCity CEO organized an event for Nevada lawmakers at Tesla’s Gigafactory to lobby for solar energy

Rive Gigafactory

In an effort to lobby Nevada lawmakers for the development of solar energy following the Public Utilities Commission’s decision to slash net metering, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive organized an event Wednesday night at the Gigafactory for Nevada politicians and top government officials.

Tesla and SolarCity executives held presentations meant to be “forward-looking and educational” and the whole event also included a tour of the Gigafactory.
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Recent pictures and updated model of the Tesla Gigafactory 1 emerge

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Recent pictures of Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 in Nevada have been scarce lately. We were getting regular updates via drone videos, but those stopped and were even taken down. We can’t say it was the cause, but the videos were taken down not long after two journalists from Gannett’s Reno Gazette Journal (RGJ) were involved in an altercation with two Tesla safety managers on the property, while they were trying to take pictures.
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Nevada Treasurer questions Faraday Future’s financial health after visit to China

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Only two months ago, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval approved a $335 million incentive package in a deal to secure that Faraday Future will build a $1 billion electric car factory in the state, more specifically in North Las Vegas. Now after the company reportedly broke ground at the site just a few weeks ago, we learn that Nevada Treasurer Dan Schwartz is questioning Faraday’s financial health after inquiries and a visit to China.

It looks like Faraday is subject to its fair share of scrutiny, especially after both Nevada and Tesla were criticized over the size of the incentive package the state agreed to give Tesla to build its Gigafactory near Reno. The package has been widely reported to be worth $1.3 billion and contributed to Tesla’s image as been dependent on government subsidies, but it’s important to understand that the incentives are spread out on 20 years and contingent on Tesla spending close to $100 billion at the factory during the same period.
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Tesla Gigafactory is still ahead of schedule, but behind on job creation

drone giga oct 2015

According to a new report from the Reno Gazette-Journal, the Tesla Gigafactory is still ahead of schedule, but it is falling short on job creation and capital investment projections for the project. It would be important to note that RGJ is making these claims based on the most recent data available – dated September 30 and June 30 – while comparing the numbers to the state’s projections for the end of 2015.

In its analysis, RGJ assumes that Tesla is still falling short in the fourth quarter because it was lagging so far behind in September. 
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Panasonic confirms it plans to invest $1.6 billion in the Tesla Gigafactory

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Panasonic confirmed being a partner in Tesla’s battery factory early in the development of the project, but other than some estimates from Tesla, the electronic giant never committed to a dollar amount in investment until today.

Tesla made clear its plan to remain in control of the project and to contribute the majority of the estimated $4 billion to $5 billion investment required to build its massive battery factory. Panasonic confirmed today that it plans to invest between $1.5 billion and $1.6 billion in the Gigafactory.
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Hyperloop test track with low-pressure tube is under-construction in Nevada

HT Nevada test track

Hyperloop Technologies Inc. announced last month a deal with Nevada officials to build a new test track for “Propulsion Open Air Test” (POAT) in the state.

Open air track aside and more interestingly, the company is also working on a 3 km full-scale and full speed enclosed prototype with a low-pressure environment and the latest images from the site (see above) show it’s already under-construction.
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Tesla passes its state audit for the Gigafactory, earns $9.6 million in tax credits

Gigafactory sept 2015

An audit of the Tesla’s job creation and value of its investment was due on Oct. 1, but Tesla asked for an extension and now the report was finally made available during the holidays.

Independent auditors concluded Tesla met all conditions for the first eight months after lawmakers approved the incentive package (Oct. 17, 2014, through June 30)
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583 construction workers and 82 permanent employees are now working at Tesla’s Gigafactory [RGJ Report]

Gigafactory sept 2015Earlier this week, the Reno Gazette-Journal published its latest progress report on Tesla’s Gigafactory. I suggest reading the entire lengthy piece to get a good idea of the impact of the Gigafactory on the region, but the paper can get obnoxiously whiny about the state and local government’s support of the project, so I compiled the bulletpoints and facts from RGJ’s document digging for a quick overview here:
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