Fremont Celebrates Tesla's New Model S Sedan
FREMONT (CBS SF) - The fanfare surrounding Tesla's recent unveiling of its new, all-electric sedan may be dying down on the showroom floor, but the City of Fremont is still very much in a celebratory mood.
What a difference a few years make, reasoned City Councilwoman Sue Chan. She vividly recalls the April 2010 decision by Toyota to pull the plug on its manufacturing operation at the NUMMI plant, in Fremont.
"The impact of NUMMI closing, with 4,700 jobs being lost, dealt a big blow to the local economy," she lamented.
Imagine, then, the relief a few months later when Tesla founder Elon Musk announced plans to move into the plant, where the revolutionary electric vehicle company said it would built the much-anticipated follow up to the popular Roadster.
The first Tesla S sedans rolled off the Fremont assembly line last Friday.
KCBS' Mark Seelig Reports:
"We're very proud of the fact that we're able to employ a lot of people who used to work here when it was called the NUMMI plant, we've got 2,000 employees now at Tesla," declared Musk.
In a down economy, Chan welcomes every job that's offered in Fremont.
"With every door closing, another one opens," she said.
More people working in Fremont, she reasoned, would translate into more people shopping, living and supporting Fremont.
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