California Board Approves $15 Million Tax Credit For Tesla In Exchange For 4,400 Jobs
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A state economic development board has approved $15 million in tax credits for electric vehicle-maker Tesla Motors.
California Competes approved the credit Thursday on a 4-1 vote. Board member Madeline Janis opposed it, asking about negative publicity over subsidies to Tesla.
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Tesla, which is based in Fremont, California, is promising to create 4,400 new jobs in the state in exchange for the credit in 2019.
California lost out last year in a heated bidding war for the company's $5 billion battery factory. Brown said then that he didn't think what Tesla sought would be fair to taxpayers. Nevada won after offering $1.3 billion in tax breaks.
Diarmuid O'Connell, vice president of business development for Tesla, says the carmaker is committed to California despite its high-profile decision to build a $5 billion battery factory in neighboring Nevada.
O'Connell says Tesla is now California's largest manufacturing employer, with 9,000 jobs in the state.
The state board is considering credits worth $49.8 million for 63 companies that applied through Gov. Jerry Brown's GO-Biz agency.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.