Reno

Tesla’s co-founder and Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel was at the University of Nevada, Reno earlier this week to talk to students and announce a new internship program for the company’s Gigafactory. As part of its Gigafactory deal, Tesla is pumping $1 million into the University of Nevada’s Battery research program.

During his presentation, Straubel confirmed that after launching the Model X last month, Tesla now shifted its core focus on the anticipated next generation vehicle: the Model 3.
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Last Friday, two journalists from Gannett’s Reno Gazette Journal (RGJ)  were  in an altercation with two Tesla safety managers on Tesla’s property at the Gigafactory near Reno. One of the individuals, RGJ photographer Andy Barron was arrested and charged for battery with a deadly weapon by the Storey County Sheriff’s department.
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When Tesla Motors negotiated with the state of Nevada to build its battery factory in the desert east of Reno, the state government agreed to give the automaker up to $1.3 billion in tax incentives over 20 years to build the $5 billion project.

But the deal came with several requirements the company needs to meet to get access to the tax breaks. Most of which have to do with employment – Tesla is expected to create up to 6,500 jobs through the Gigafactory once it operates at full capacity in 2020 – but a lesser known requirement was for Tesla to invest in educational research in the state and this week the company fulfilled the commitment by signing an agreement to invest $1 million in battery research with the University of Nevada in Las Vegas (UNLV) over the next 5 years.
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