#Tesla Update(s)

And it's on! We knew this was eventually coming. But now, it's official. "The Tesla Session" is officially underway in Carson City.



And what have we learned since this morning? Perhaps there will be no Switch, after all?

Remember when we told you about the last minute move by the Southern Nevada data center company to land tax credits for a Nevada expansion? So far, Governor Brian Sandoval (R) is saying no. It remains to be seen how many allies Switch has in the Legislature Building.

In the mean time, Steve Sebelius notes the slippery slope this state will approach if the deal is approved. Why Tesla? Why Apple? Yet why not Switch? And why not any other company willing to tell us what we want to hear about "economic development"?

Also, PLAN made it official this morning. Folks there are concerned about the glossy numbers Governor Sandoval's office has released about the economic impact of Tesla's Gigafactory, as well as shifting the tax burden from Tesla to working families. Oh, and PLAN added this at the end: "One last question, which has been asked by others but only answered by silence: Why can’t the state of Nevada come together on a plan to raise revenues to fix our broken education system as enthusiastically as the rush to create a $1.3 billion package of corporate subsidies for a single company in one part of the state?" Ouch. (This is actually the reason why The Education Initiative [TEI] is on our fall ballot.)



At least now, we're starting to see the Tesla bills emerge. We're also continuing to see strong reviews for the very technology Tesla wants to bring to Northern Nevada. The Tesla Gigafactory may even end up producing 20% more renewable electricity than it actually needs.

The Guinn Center just endorsed the Tesla deal, provided there are benchmarks Tesla must meet in order to continue enjoying those tax credits. Reno News & Review's Dennis Myers, however, calls foul on what he sees as naked corporate welfare. And of course, NPRI is against anything that doesn't perfectly fit its ideological mold.

We probably won't have more #Tesla details until around 4:00 PM. We'll do our best to stay on top of it all. And if there's any critical breaking news tonight, we'll do our best to cover it here. So go ahead and stay tuned as #TeslaMania continues in Carson City.