'Choose Joplin,' A Missouri City Trying To Get Tesla To Build Gigafactory There, Offers $1B In Incentives

Joplin, Missouri, has set up a website to convince Tesla Inc. TSLA to build its next manufacturing plant in the city.

What Happened

According to the website, the city authorities are offering $1 billion in incentives to the automaker to open a "gigafactory," as Tesla refers to some of its high-tech manufacturing facilities.

The incentives offered by Joplin include a 50% discount on a 1,042 acres site, 100% tax abatement for 12 years, and other tax benefits, the "Choose Joplin" website says.

The authorities also pointed out that labor costs would be lower in the city compared to Nashville or Austin.

In addition, Joplin points out its suitability as "the trucking capital of America," and "the home of battery technology," alongside flouting its electricity and workforce capacities.

Why It Matters

The Palo Alto-based company's CEO Elon Musk had announced in March that it was scouting for locations in the "central United States" to build a gigafactory that would manufacture its line of "cybertrucks," unveiled last November.

Unlike Amazon.com Inc. AMZN Tesla hasn't stated its interest in hosting any public competition to choose the site.

The automaker is battling the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic at the moment, with a majority of its production in the U.S. halted to stop the spread of the deadly virus.

Price Action

Tesla's shares closed 9% higher at $709.89 on Tuesday and added another 5.2% in the after-hours session at $746.50.

The shares rose as Goldman Sachs resumed coverage of the automaker's stock with a buy rating early in the day.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Tesla.