WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Word that Tesla Motors is poised to choose Nevada over Texas for the site of its $5 billion battery factory has drawn a curt response from Gov. Rick Perry’s office.
Texas, California, Arizona and New Mexico were all vying for the project and its estimated 6,500 jobs. But Tesla is expected to announce Thursday that it’s chosen Nevada.
Asked Wednesday about Tesla’s upcoming announcement, Perry spokeswoman Lucy Nashed said via email that she “would refer you to them on that.”
Perry has made using multi-million-dollar incentive programs to lure top employers to Texas a centerpiece of his governorship. He scored a victory in April when Toyota announced it was moving its U.S. headquarters from California to suburban Dallas.
Perry’s office has not said what incentives it may have offered Tesla.