Source: Tesla picks Nevada site for $5 billion battery plant

RENO, Nev. – Tesla Motors has chosen Nevada as the site for a $5 billion factory that will pump out car batteries for a new generation of less expensive electric vehicles, a person familiar with the company’s plans said Wednesday.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because no official announcement was made, said work soon will resume at an industrial park outside Reno. Nevada still must approve a package of incentives Tesla negotiated.

Four other states – California, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico – were vying for the project and the estimated 6,500 jobs it will bring.

Tesla needs what it calls the “gigafactory” to make cheaper batteries for its Model 3, a mass-market electric car the company hopes to sell by 2017 for around $35,000. Currently, Tesla offers only the Model S sedan, which starts at $70,000.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval’s office said only that he would make a “major economic development announcement” this afternoon. A spokesman for Tesla, based in Palo Alto, California, said company representatives would be at the Capitol in Carson City for the announcement but offered no other details.