The Speculation Machine is in overdrive with that land being graded in Reno, and Teslamania growing.
And now, the Reno Gazette-Journal's veteran Bill O'Driscoll has raised the possibility of a special session to provide Elon Musk with enough goodies to entice him to choose Nevada over the moonbeams being offered in California, where he lives.
So what's really happening here? A lot, I've discovered.
My sources tell me that despite fears Musk may be using poor lil Nevada as a pawn to extract more money from California's Jerry Brown, a deal with the state remains possible, perhaps even likely. No one wants to talk on the record for fear of scuttling delicate negotiations.
But let's be clear on this: There will be no special session of the Legislature unless it is a fait accompli. Gov. Brian Sandoval is not going to call the Gang of 63 to Carson City to debate what is available in tax incentives and giveaways, nor will you get two-thirds of them to agree to do so if the governor refused. Sandoval would make the deal with Musk, then present it to legislative leaders; if they buy in, he would call them into session.
The timing is dicey, though. Remember these folks -- or at least two-thirds of them -- are on the ballot in November. And if there is a special session, that would mean lawmakers running for re-election or higher office (hello, Lucy Flores and Mark Hutchison) could not raise money from the day after the session is called to 15 days afterward. They tend to get ornery about such things, especially as the election draws near, so I'm not surprised legislators in O'Driscoll's story were not enthusiastic.
I am told Nevada has the capacity to make a deal with Tesla, but it surely would be politically controversial, so there's that, too. It might not threaten Sandoval's lock of a re-election, but if the damn media makes it sound like a bad financial package for the state ("Money for Musk but not for schools!"), it could hurt some folks. The devil will be in the sales job, showing the battery factory is worth the lavishing of gifts.
So: The economcis are there. The politics are unpredictable. The timing is everything.
One final note: The AP rewrote the RGJ story, with the RJ and others using the headline and pivoting off the lede, "Business leaders want special session for Tesla."
Oh? The only person even remotely close to a "business leader" whom O'Driscoll quoted was Ray Bacon, who is a staffer for the manufacturers trade group.
The only business leader who surely is panting for a special session to pass a money giveaway package and any new laws for incentives is a fellow named Musk.
The Speculation Machine is in overdrive with that land being graded in Reno, and Teslamania growing.
And now, the Reno Gazette-Journal's veteran Bill O'Driscoll has raised the possibility of a special session to provide Elon Musk with enough goodies to entice him to choose Nevada over the moonbeams being offered in California, where he lives.
So what's really happening here? A lot, I've discovered.
My sources tell me that despite fears Musk may be using poor lil Nevada as a pawn to extract more money from California's Jerry Brown, a deal with the state remains possible, perhaps even likely. No one wants to talk on the record for fear of scuttling delicate negotiations.
But let's be clear on this: There will be no special session of the Legislature unless it is a fait accompli. Gov. Brian Sandoval is not going to call the Gang of 63 to Carson City to debate what is available in tax incentives and giveaways, nor will you get two-thirds of them to agree to do so if the governor refused. Sandoval would make the deal with Musk, then present it to legislative leaders; if they buy in, he would call them into session.
The timing is dicey, though. Remember these folks -- or at least two-thirds of them -- are on the ballot in November. And if there is a special session, that would mean lawmakers running for re-election or higher office (hello, Lucy Flores and Mark Hutchison) could not raise money from the day after the session is called to 15 days afterward. They tend to get ornery about such things, especially as the election draws near, so I'm not surprised legislators in O'Driscoll's story were not enthusiastic.
I am told Nevada has the capacity to make a deal with Tesla, but it surely would be politically controversial, so there's that, too. It might not threaten Sandoval's lock of a re-election, but if the damn media makes it sound like a bad financial package for the state ("Money for Musk but not for schools!"), it could hurt some folks. The devil will be in the sales job, showing the battery factory is worth the lavishing of gifts.
So: The economcis are there. The politics are unpredictable. The timing is everything.
One final note: The AP rewrote the RGJ story, with the RJ and others using the headline and pivoting off the lede, "Business leaders want special session for Tesla."
Oh? The only person even remotely close to a "business leader" whom O'Driscoll quoted was Ray Bacon, who is a staffer for the manufacturers trade group.
The only business leader who surely is panting for a special session to pass a money giveaway package and any new laws for incentives is a fellow named Musk.
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