Elon Musk Invited To Build Tesla Giga Colorado By Governor Polis

Elon Musk was invited to build Tesla Giga Colorado by Governor Polis. The Tesla CEO announced via Twitter yesterday that the company was scouting for locations in central USA for its next Gigafactory. Governor Jared Polis from Colorado extended an open invitation to Elon Musk to discuss a Tesla Gigafactory in his state. 

"Colorado is the perfect place! Let's talk!" commented Governor Polis as a response to Elon Musk's tweet about a Cybertruck Gigafactory in central USA. The Colorado governor's invitation was supported by Tesla enthusiasts Erik Strait and Sean Mitchell, both of whom run individual YouTube channels about electric vehicles. 

Colorado is the perfect place! Let’s talk!

— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) March 11, 2020

Polis' comment was pretty accurate. Colorado would be a good location for a Tesla Gigafactory. Colorado has a long history with Tesla, which goes as far back as the days of the original Roadster. Back in 2010, Colorado gave a $42,000 tax credit to people who purchased Tesla's Roadster. Tesla is also the lone automaker that is allowed to sell its cars directly to consumers. 

Colorado politicians are now trying to create a path for more EV automakers in the state who follow Tesla's business model with Bill SB20-167. According to The Colorado Sun, the proposed bill will allow new EV manufacturers to sell vehicles directly to consumers, just like Tesla. According to the bill's summary on Colorado's official government website, there are only two stipulations to Bill SB20-167.

"The bill creates a new exception that allows the ownership, operation, or control of a motor vehicle dealer that sells electric motor vehicles if the manufacturer makes only electric motor vehicles and has no franchised dealers of a manufacturer's the dealer's line-make," stated the bill's summary.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Now that the EV market is growing, Tesla competitors, like Rivian, want to sell vehicles directly to the people of Colorado as well. However, a compromise about dealership franchises with the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association back in 2010 allows only Tesla to sell directly to customers.

If Bill SB20-167 does pass, Tesla would be facing some more competition in Colorado—a state that has been supported for quite some time. For Tesla's overall mission, the bill is great. But from a business point-of-view, Tesla could lose some of its footing in the state. 

So far, Tesla was the only EV car company that could sell directly to Colorado residents. If Bill SB20-167 passes, Rivian and other EV competitors could take pieces of Tesla's market in Colorado. Building a Gigafactory in Colorado could strengthen Tesla's position in the state, however, and it would establish a dominating presence in the local market.

A Giga Colorado could strengthen Colorado's ties to Tesla. A Tesla Gigafactory has a lot of benefits. Aside from the vehicles that would be produced in Giga Colorado, Tesla would provide new jobs to the state. This is already happening in Nevada, where Gigafactory 1 is located. 

Credit: Andres GE

There is only one issue with Giga Colorado, and that is its location within the United States. Colorado is not too far from Texas. Elon Musk already hinted that a Giga Texas could be in play. It appears that Tesla wants to spread its gigafactories throughout the country evenly, making Giga Colorado less probable

Musk also said that the new Gigafactory would ship Cybertruck and Model Y units to the east coast of the United States. Texas and Colorado are closer to the west coast. 

It would make more sense for Tesla to build its news Gigafactory in states like Florida, which is not only closer to the east coast but is also very open to EV adoption. That being said, it is still difficult to deny the fact that Tesla's upcoming vehicles like the Cybertruck are a good match for the Colorado market.  

Feature Image Credit: Tesla