California Lawmakers Make Plea for Next Tesla “Gigafactory” to Be Built in Golden State

In another push to get Tesla to change its mind, California lawmakers sent a letter last week to CEO Elon Musk, urging him to bring a “gigafactory” to California, legislators revealed Tuesday.

Tesla announced two weeks ago that its coveted $5 billion battery factory would be built in Reno, Nevada.

California representatives from across the state are trying to convince the Palo Alto-based company that the state has everything it needs to make their 5 facility a success. In the letter, they touted the state's supply of qualified workers, and its educational infrastructure.

“This commitment to building the nation’s smartest workforce has caused California to have one of the fastest growing economies in the country,” said the letter, signed by 24 California representatives, including Mike Honda, Barbara Lee and Anna Eshoo.

"The Golden State's culture, history, and entrepreneurial spirit provide a rich quality of life for Tesla's current and future employees,” the legislators said in the letter.

A Tesla spokesperson declined to comment when contacted Tuesday by NBC Bay Area.

The gigafactory, as Tesla calls the project, would bring down the cost of batteries by producing them on a huge scale. The Nevada facility would be approximately 10 million square feet, equivalent to about 174 football fields, and be located at an industrial park about 15 miles east of Sparks, a Reno suburb founded as a railroad town more than a century ago.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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