Tesla to get over $330 million in tax abatement from Nevada

(Reuters) – Nevada on Thursday approved more than $330 million in tax abatement for electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc that is set to invest more than $3.6 billion in the state to expand its Gigafactory complex with two new factories.

Tesla said in January that one of the two new factories will mass produce its long-delayed semi-electric truck, and the other will make its new 4680 battery cell.

The cell plant would be able to make enough batteries for 2 million light-duty vehicles annually, including 4680, which is key to Tesla meeting a goal of halving the manufacturing costs and ramping up battery production nearly 100-fold by 2030.

The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board said on Thursday Tesla is required to create 3,000 jobs at an average hourly wage of $33.49.

The last time Tesla received tax breaks from Nevada was in 2014, when state Governor Brian Sandoval signed a package of bills to provide $1.3 billion in tax abatement and other incentives.

(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)