583 construction workers and 82 permanent employees are now working at Tesla’s Gigafactory [RGJ Report]

Earlier 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:

• An audit of the company’s reported job creation and value of its investment was due on Oct. 1, but Tesla asked for an extension and the report is due any day now.
• 583 construction workers and 82 permanent employees are now working at Tesla’s Gigafactory, 73 percent of whom are from Nevada.
• The companies’ total quarterly payroll was $2.9 million last quarter.
• Tesla agreed to an annual payment to Storey County to compensate the local government for the increase in government services, such as an additional sheriff’s deputy to patrol the area (which is apparently needed in part because of RGJ itself). The first annual payment negotiated by the county was $881,203.
• Since Tesla began building its gigafactory, the number of business licenses in Storey County has spiked by 40 percent.
• Home values in the surrounding “bedroom communities” of Sparks and Fernley have jumped 18 percent and 15 percent respectively since the project was announced.
• The companies (Tesla and Panasonic) have invested $238 million so far in the project.

You can read the full piece on the Reno Gazette-Journal’s website.