Is Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo giving Tesla $330 million in taxpayer money?
Tesla has been approved for $330 million in tax abatements (tax breaks) in return for investing an additional $3.6 billion into the company’s Nevada operations. Abatements are reductions in taxes owed, so Tesla will not receive any state dollars.
The Nevada Legislature created the tax abatement process for new or growing businesses in 1999. The law requires the Board of Economic Development to approve abatements if a company meets certain conditions, such as average wages, number of jobs created or clearing a threshold of capital investment. The governor is one of the board’s nine voting members and its chair.
Tesla plans to build 4 million square feet of space for battery and semi-truck production and to create 3,000 jobs at an average hourly rate of $33.49.