CARSON CITY, Nev. – Nevada lawmakers approved a $335 million incentive package to attract upstart electric carmaker Faraday Future’s billion-dollar factory to a hard-hit Las Vegas suburb, even though the company has yet to unveil a concept car or bring a product to market.
The state Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of the deal Saturday, after a four-day special session in Carson City. Lawmakers learned last week that Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting was backing the secretive California-based company, which employs some former Tesla Motors executives, and that Faraday plans to bring 4,500 direct jobs to Nevada.
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The Senate already approved the four bills implementing the agreement. Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, who’s championed the deal as a boon to Nevada, is expected to sign them.
The deal comes a little more than a year after state lawmakers approved a $1.3 billion incentive package to land a massive Tesla battery factory outside of Reno. Nevada economic development officials said the deals put the state well on its way to being a hub for the advanced transportation industry, after decades of dependence on casinos.
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Nevada triumphed over California, Louisiana and Georgia in the bid to land the factory. The state will offer $215 million in tax credits and abatements, and publicly finance $120 million in infrastructure improvements at an underdeveloped industrial park in the City of North Las Vegas.
State officials who negotiated the deal testified that they built protections into the bills that acknowledge the company is relatively untested. Faraday won’t be able to tap into all of its abatements until it meets a $1 billion investment threshold.
Sandoval said Faraday hopes to break ground in January.
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