Oklahoma looking to score multibillion-dollar factory investment for unnamed company
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt teased the company is a Fortune 500 with a global presence, ties to the electric vehicle industry
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Lincoln Motor Company President Joy Falotico discusses the new Lincoln electric vehicle concept.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is looking to secure a multibillion-dollar investment that would allow an unnamed company to build a new factory in the state.
"We have the opportunity to land one of the largest factories in the entire country. Just a humongous, humongous factory with billions and billions of dollars worth of investment, thousands and thousands of jobs," Stitt said during a news conference Monday. "So I'm asking for the legislature to do some special, what we call mega legislation, for not only this new company but also future ones that are going to look to expand."
Though Stitt did not disclose the name of the company involved, he noted during the press conference that it is a huge Fortune 500 company with a global presence and ties to the electric vehicle industry.
Shortly after the press conference, the Oklahoma House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget advanced HB 4455 to the state's Senate. HB 4455 provides $698 million in rebates and incentives to companies that meet specific thresholds linked to job creation and capital expenditures.
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Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt speaks at a signing ceremony to sign into law a bill April 12, 2022, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File / AP Newsroom)
The announcement comes as Panasonic is reportedly rumored to be eyeing Oklahoma or Kansas for a factory that would manufacture battery cells for Tesla.
Panasonic, which previously collaborated with Tesla to build Gigafactory Nevada, revealed in February it was planning to build two additional production lines at its Wakayama factory in western Japan to manufacture 4680-cell lithium-ion batteries, with mass production at that facility expected to begin in the fiscal year ending March 2024.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCRFF | PANASONIC HOLDINGS CORP. | 8.82 | -0.04 | -0.50% |
A spokesperson for Panasonic told FOX Business it is "examining various growth strategies for our automotive battery business" but declined to comment on anything beyond its official announcements.
Representatives for Gov. Stitt and Tesla did not immediately return FOX Business' requests for comment.
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In March, electric vehicle production started at Tesla's Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg using nonstructural battery packs with 2170 cells. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during the company's first-quarter earnings call on Wednesday that the facility will hopefully transition to 4680 cells later this year.
During the company's Cyber Rodeo opening party for its Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, this month, the company delivered its first Model Y vehicles with 4680 cells made in house and single-piece front body castings and structural battery packs. The company expects the Texas plant to produce Model Ys using both structural packs with 4680 cells and non-structural packs with 2170 cells later this year.
CEO of Tesla Motors Elon Musk speaks at the Tesla Giga Texas manufacturing "Cyber Rodeo" grand opening party in Austin, Texas, April 7, 2022. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
If everything goes according to plan, Musk said Tesla would be in volume production with 4680 cells "towards the end of the third quarter and certainly in the fourth quarter."
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
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| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 149.90 | -5.55 | -3.57% |
Despite chip shortages, COVID-19 outbreaks and multiple-fold price increases on some raw materials due to inflation, Tesla posted a record quarter for revenue, vehicle deliveries and operating profit.