Tesla motor company is now selling double the amount of cars it sold last year, as of October 5, 2016. The Reno/Sparks community was first introduced Tesla in 2014 when the company agreed to build a massive battery factory after receiving 1.3 billion in tax breaks. With Tesla’s sales doubling, this could be some of the best news for the Reno area.
According to CNN Money’s article Tesla selling twice as many cars as it was in 2015, “As of October 5, Tesla’s stock rose 5% to $213 a share.” Now if you know nothing about stocks, you always want to buy low and sell high. Paying $213 for one share is extremely expensive, but that also means the company is profiting tremendously. Let’s take a look at a few other motor companies to see just how amazing Tesla is actually doing in comparison. Ford Motor Company’s current price a share is at $12.10, General Motors Company is selling their shares at $32.04 a share and lastly, Toyota Motor Corporation’s current stock is at $115.26. Toyota is Tesla’s closest competitor and their stock per share is $97 less!
So what does this have to do with Reno? Since Reno, NV, is home to one of the largest battery factories in the world for Tesla Motors, business at the plant is booming. With as fast as Tesla’s company is growing, the Reno/Sparks area’s economy is on the up and up. At some point the demand for Tesla cars will get so out of hand, Tesla won’t be able to supply their customers. Now this is where Reno comes into play. Maybe Nevada could lobby for another battery factory to be built, or even an entire factory to build Tesla cars in Reno. Either which way, if Tesla’s stock continues to rise and they build more factories in the Reno/Sparks area the Northern Nevada economy will skyrocket!
The installation of these new factories will open up a plethora of job opportunities for Reno locals. The building of the factories alone will produce thousands of jobs in the construction field. After the factories are created, they’ll need another few thousand employees to run the day-to-day operations.
Not only would these new buildings create job opportunities for the working class, but also a great deal of job possibilities for current and graduated University of Nevada, Reno students. Business, Journalism and engineering students would now have amazing internship opportunities, along with possible job offers, from one of the most acclaimed motor companies in the country. While Tesla has visited the campus before, in search of students willing to start working for their company. The demand for skilled, hard working and organized students would go through the roof, if Tesla expanded its operations in the Northern Nevada area.
The only possible foreseeable problem is Tesla is hesitant on expansion, due to other competition. First off they have to deal with companies already in the business of making electric cars, Toyota, BMW, Nissan, Chevrolet and Ford. These companies pose imminent threats to Tesla’s business. But Tesla has the most tantalizing electric car on the market. While this may be the case, General Motors has announced that their all new electric car, the Chevrolet Bolt, will go on sale later this year for a fraction of what a Tesla costs, at $37,495. Not only does Tesla have to anticipate General Motor’s Chevy Bolt, but they also have to plan for Volkswagen attempting to break into the electric car industry come 2020. Their electric car is expected to cost less than $30,000!
Even with all of these factors to consider, it is safe to say Tesla Motors currently has the best electric car on the market. As long as customers think about quality, I could see Tesla expanding further into Northern Nevada, within the next two years.
Brandon Cruz studies journalism. He can be reached at bcruz@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @Brandon_Cruz23.
