The race to secure Tesla's Gigafactory appears to be nearing the finish line.
The Associated Press reports that Tesla (IW 500/384) (TSLA) has chosen Nevada for the site of Tesla's new $5 billion lithium-ion battery plant.
The official announcement is expected to be made by Gov. Brian Sandoval at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4 during a news conference held by the state government.
Since early this year, five states -- Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas – have been vying to win the Tesla development that is expected to create 6,500 jobs.
The Gigafactory, which will be created in partnership with Panasonic (IW 1000/41), will create the batteries needed to power the mass-market electric Model III sedan Tesla plans to bring to market in 2017.
The Nevada site where Tesla has been excavating -- the Reno Tahoe Industrial Center -- is the closest location to Tesla's asembly plant in Fremont, Calif. and the company's headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif.
Tesla CEO has said the company will develop two sites in case a problem -- either with funding or development -- arises.
