Originally published on CleanTechnica.
We have been watching newcomer Faraday Future with eager interest, but not for the same reason as conventional news outlets. Stop over at a mainstream news outlet and you will see Faraday Future compared to Tesla with cries of “Tesla’s first real competition” and clickbait headlines questioning Tesla’s long-term viability. But not here. We have been into electric vehicles before they were cool (thanks, Tesla!) and know just how hard Tesla has worked over the last decade to get where it is today, and that’s not something you can buy, like many think Faraday is attempting to do. Well… at least not for just $1 billion dollars.
Tesla is currently valued at over $30 billion and has fully staffed manufacturing, R&D, and production units with years of experience in the space (literally)… and that Gigafactory thing. But this article isn’t here to defend Tesla. Having said that, we are very excited to have another major investment in EVs, and the fact that Faraday Future has a very stretching vision for personal transport is just the cherry on top. But that’s not what we want to talk about today….
Instead, we have some big news to share — Faraday Future just announced, with Nevada state leaders, plans to build a brand new, $1 billion dollar automotive production plant “in the very near future” just a few miles northeast of Las Vegas. If this feels familiar, the race to land the Tesla Gigafactory back in 2014 concluded with Tesla taking home a well rounded but not terribly substantial benefits package from the very same state of Nevada.
Faraday Future selected the site for a number of reasons, including a sizable benefits package, which we found details of on Twitter via a press sheet shared at yesterday’s press conference:
Start of Document
Faraday Future in Nevada
Project Highlights
- Approximately $85 billion in economic impact over 20 years
- 4,500 direct jobs on-site with an average wage in excess of $22/hour with full benefits
- 3 million square foot automobile manufacturing facility
- More than $1 billion initial investment on the site within the first 10 years
- Peak construction employment of more than 3,000 construction and installation workers
- Faraday will make a direct contribution to K-12 education of $1 million per year for 6 years beginning in 2018-19
- Faraday will prioritize the employment of Nevadans
Economic Data
- Project will generate approximately 9,000 indirect jobs in the community
- Faraday will increase manufacturing employment in the county by more than 20 percent
- Direct economic impact generated by the project will be $55 billion over 20 years
- Indirect economic impact will be approximately $30 billion over 20 years
- Gross Regional Product in Clark County would increase by up to 4 percent
- Estimated value of incentives is approximately $217 million over 15 years, depending on size of investment.
Fiscal Projections After Abatements
$230 million in state General Fund revenue over 20 years
$270 million in local government revenue over r20 years
$260 million in k-12 education revenue over 20 years
$760 million in total fiscal impact
Summary of Potential Legislation and Major Deal Points
- 100% abatement of sales and use tax (15 years)
- 75% abatement of Real Property tax (10 years)
- 75% abatement of personal property tax (10 years)
- 75% abatement of modified business tax (10 years)
(Company will receive standard abatement upon approval. Company will pay enhanced abatements and will receive rebate once $1 billion investment has been made.)
Tax Credits
- Transferrable tax credit of $9,500 per permanent full time job, up to 4,000 jobs – average wage of jobs must be $22/hour to qualify
Economic Development Rider
- Remaining 25 MW of electricity will be made available through the Economic Development Rate Rider Program (10 years)
Infrastructure
- NDOT will advance a previously planned project to construct and install an enhanced interchange at the intersection of I-15 and US 93, widen US 93 to four lanes to Apex Power Parkway and add an elevated left turn lane at Grand Valley Parkway
- Ensure a municipal water infrastructure system is available at the project site*
- Construction of a rail port and associated rail infrastructure
Workforce Innovations for the New Nevada (WINN) Fund
- Construct a training program sufficient to provide training for up to 4000 automobile assembly workers at the facility – this program will train up to 800 workers in any given 12 month period*
* Denotes a deal point that requires approval by the Nevada Legislature
End of Document
Additionally, Faraday boasts about the “enthusiastic workforce” in the area, the relatively short distance from its California headquarters (though, I can’t imagine executives will take this shuttle) and, interestingly, the close proximity to the thriving tourism of Las Vegas. Looking back at Faraday’s compelling vision for autonomous driving, this does appear to be a real mark in the positive column for the new location, as autonomous vehicles could easily supplant some of the 10,000 taxi drivers in Las Vegas and carve a chunk out of the 27 million taxi rides in the city each year.
Similar to the now famous Elon Musk tweet announcing the address of the Gigafactory after months of speculation, Faraday announced the exact GPS coordinates of the new factory in a picture with the coordinates subtly appended… almost just a part of the graphics:
Looking forward, Faraday is eager to get moving on the $1 billion dollar project, which includes the supporting development of the APEX Industrial Park, which is a new development zone for “environmentally-conscious companies.” This shows that they are keenly aware of the connection between climate change, eco-friendly lifestyles, and EV consumers, which Tesla has done a fantastic job of cultivating. Tesla has also set the high bar when it comes to clean manufacturing with its new Gigafactory (though its Fremont facility needs some work in this space). The Gigafactory doesn’t even have a natural gas line running to it and will be powered by 100% renewables, with support from an army of Tesla Powerpacks.
This new factory will not only be the factory from which the next generation of Faraday Future electric vehicles will be produced, but will also provide sanctuary for the creatives who will work to refine and redefine existing vehicles and implement new innovations leveraging the latest discoveries.
The new site will support 4,500 on-site jobs, with many more radiating out from the factory in the form of service providers, contractors, suppliers, and so forth.
We will be at CES for the reveal of Faraday Future’s first concept car… but don’t hold your breath — that’s on January 4th. Check out the full press release for this announcement here along with an infographic (PDF) with some details on the release here.