Southwestern States Bidding for $5 Billion Tesla Factory

Four southwestern states are in the running to land a new multi-billion dollar factory producing batteries for electric cars, a competition that could bring more than 6,000 jobs to the winner.

Tesla sees the Gigafactory as key to bringing down battery prices and making electric vehicles more affordable.  By the time it reaches full production in 2020, the proposed plant would annually produce enough batteries for 500,000 cars.  The factory's economies of scale could cut battery costs more than 30 percent, according to the company estimates.

Southwestern States Bidding for $5 Billion Tesla Factory