Tesla moving along, Faraday regrouping Nevada Legislature told

CARSON CITY — The head of the governor’s office of economic development told lawmakers Wednesday that Tesla is moving right along with its plans while Faraday Future is changing its strategy to build its Apex auto factory in phases.

Steve Hill made the comments during the Senate Finance Committee review of his budget for the coming biennium.

He said Tesla has more than 1,000 workers at the battery factory site in the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center in Storey County.

“They’re hiring 150 to 200 more every month,” Hill said.

Hill said by March 2018, the operation expects to have 3,200 workers.

Faraday, he said, is a different story but he’s confident the company is moving forward.

Hill said Faraday has invested about $160 million so far, purchasing the property at Apex and funding the engineering and utility work there.

He said the company has revealed its car, “which is a significant milestone that provides significant value for that company.”

The next is to “manufacture it, get it out the door and sell it.”

“The potential value of the company will jump then,” he said.

But instead of moving immediately to build a huge factory, Hill said they’re planning to “phase the construction of their facility” and will break ground this spring on a 650,000 square foot factory that will open in 2018 and be able to make up to 12,000 cars a year.

“Frankly I think it’s a smart strategy,” said Hill.

Eventually, Faraday is supposed to build a 1.6 million square foot manufacturing plant and another 1.4 million feet in support facilities and offices.

He told the committee in the two previous fiscal years, GOED has brought 5,000 jobs to the state with an average $20.44 hourly wage along with $7 billion in capital investment.