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. expand full story

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. expand full story

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. expand full story

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. expand full story

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. expand full story

Hyperloop technologies (HT) co-founders Shervin Pishevar and Brogan BamBrogan were at the Launch Festival last week and sat down with Jason Calacanis to discuss the latest progress in making Elon Musk’s fifth mode of transportation a reality. expand full story

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. expand full story

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. expand full story

Two homeowners with rooftop-solar systems initiated a class action lawsuit in Clark County District Court against Nevada Power, a utility part of Warren Buffet’s NV Energy, over the recent net metering rate changes approved by the Public Utilities Commission. expand full story

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.  expand full story