To: Mr. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, Inc.
From: Ralph Bivins, editor of Realty News Report and author of Houston 2020: America’s Boom Town – An Extreme Close Up and the people of Houston.
Re: Locating Tesla in Houston. In regards to your Saturday tweet “Tesla will now move its HQ (from Palo Alto, Calif.) and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately.” And considering this in regard to your lawsuit, filed May 9, against the anti-business Alameda County officials who overstepped their bounds by refusing to allow production to resume at Tesla’s Fremont auto manufacturing facility. Nothing official, but possible Houston relocation incentive proposals could include concepts similar to the following:
Sir: Houston would be honored and pleased to welcome the Tesla Inc. headquarters to Houston, the Energy Capital of The World and home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, and the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical center in the world. Texas is rapidly reopening after the pandemic and the overly restrictive shutdown orders that prompted you to file suit against California officials over the weekend will never occur in Houston.
Executive Summary: Houston is prepared to offer (1) 250,000 square feet of Class A office space in downtown Houston, delivered to your specifications, within 30 days, for Tesla Inc. headquarters. This space is offered with two years of free rent and a 10-year tax abatement.
In addition, Houston will provide (2) a grant of 10 acres of land at Houston Spaceport, 13150 Space Center Drive, for accommodation of your SpaceX organization. With adjacency to Ellington Field and close proximity to NASA, the Spaceport features facilities for space vehicle assembly and zero-gravity experimentation. Other Spaceport ventures aspire to complete a lunar landing in the near-term.
In addition, Houston leadership is prepared to offer (3) 200 acres of manufacturing multi-modal land, with deep-water port and rail service, for innovative development of Tesla’s Cybertruck pickup truck manufacturing facility. Houston is one of the world’s leading markets for consumer pickup truck sales. Toyota and GM currently operate large truck factories in Texas and the Port of Houston has vast automotive shipping facilities and container terminals.
The Musk Vision: With oil prices rising from historical lows in April, the Houston’s economy recovers from the double-whammy impact by the coronavirus pandemic and disruption in the energy industry. This has resulted in thousands of layoffs – approximately 300,000 Houstonians have lost their jobs, been furloughed or filed for unemployment in recent weeks. A number of energy firms are in financial trouble. Houston needs visionary leadership as it prepares for the decades ahead. Your entrepreneurial style is a natural fit for Houston, which frequently calls itself a “can-do” city.
Now: Honestly,Houston’s economic development efforts have failed to yield exceptional results in the past. But I am certain the leadership of Houston’s real estate community is prepared to meet with you today– immediately – to facilitate Tesla’s move to the Energy Capital of the World.
Personal: Congratulations on the birth last week of your son, named X AE A-12. Also,we know that you placedtwo of your California estate homes on the market last week. Experienced Houston Realtors are available to locate a suitable Texas residence for your family.
Editor’s note: Houston’s economy has been heavily damaged in 2020. Attracting the corporate headquarters of an innovative company like Tesla, would be a rare major-league win for Houston’s economic development efforts. On Saturday afternoon, Musk tweeted out his intention to move Tesla’s headquarters to Nevada or Texas. That was about 48 hours ago. Has any Houstonian reached out to their Tesla contacts yet? Did any Houstonian work Mother’s Day to prepare a Tesla incentive package? Have Houston site candidates been identified?
Does Houston still have the “fire in the belly” to make a Tesla deal happen? Or do you want to become another Detroit?
(Commentary by Ralph Bivins, Editor of Texas-based Realty News Report)
May 11, 2020 Realty News Report Copyright 2020
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