Giant Elon Musk statue, free pizza for staff: 2 US states dish out freebies to woo Tesla

Tesla Inc is soon expected to make a decision on a location to build its USD 1.1 billion vehicle assembly plant which will create 20,000 new jobs. According to media reports, CEO Elon Musk has shortlisted Tulsa in Oklahoma and Austin, Texas and contest between two places has heated up. Reports suggest that Musk Elon Musk has fueled a bidding war over tax breaks and or concessions that would reduce factory’s cost. 

new factory will be Tesla’s biggest so far.  new factory would build Tesla’s upcoming “Cybertruck” as well as be a second site to build Model Y small SUV.

Locals repaint 'Gold Driller' statue

Tesla has informed  Texas officials that new plant would create at least 5,000 jobs, whereas  Oklahoma officials were told about creation of at least 7,000 jobs in near term and up to 20,000 jobs ahead. In Oklahoma, recently, a 75-foot statue called  'Gold Driller' was repainted by a local Tesla fan club to make it look somewhat identical to Musk. y drew a Tesla logo on its chest and a belt buckle was coloured with company’s name.

Meanwhile, a Tulsa pizzeria has promised to give out free pies to all Tesla employees. Elon Musk on July 3, visited Tulsa to visit undeveloped site. Oklahoma Goverr tweeted pictures with Musk and said, "Oklahoma is right place for Tesla and I thank all of Oklahomans who have shown ir overwhelming support. Keep it up!" Oklahoma officials have made ir pitch to senior of Tesla employees last week via video conferencing. Earlier, company had short-listed eight central U.S. states but only Tulsa and Travis County remain as contenders.

'Tesla in Tulsa'

Last week, Elon Musk became seventh-richest person in world, surpassing legendary investor Warren Buffett, as Tesla’s stock continues to skyrocket. Musk surpassed Buffett on Friday after Tesla shares hit an all-time high, giving Musk a net worth of about $70.5 billion, roughly $1 billion more than Buffett, according to Bloomberg’s calculations.

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electric car maker is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings on July 22. re has been speculation Tesla could be promoted to S&P 500 following report. Elon Musk currently owns at least 20.8% of Tesla’s stock and he is also primary shareholder of X.

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(With ncy inputs)