LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Tesla CEO Elon Musk is in war of words with California authorities over prolonged shutdown orders connected to COVID-19 and on Monday Musk defied authorities and reopened his production facility in Northern California.
Musk also threatened to move his multi-billion dollar company out of the state and relocate it in Nevada or Texas.
The eccentric CEO is rubbing some California lawmakers the wrong way, one tweeted "[expletive] Elon Musk" on Saturday after his twitter posting and war of words with authorities.
The squabble between Musk and authorities is now presenting an opportunity for a possible relocation to Nevada.
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"Working with the City of Las Vegas, working with me especially, the red tape gets cut real quick, real quick," said Las Vegas Mayor Pro Tem Michele Fiore via a phone interview with 13 Investigates.
Fiore tweeted a letter to Elon Musk, Monday, asking for him to relocate the business to Nevada, while listing a number of reasons why Nevada is more economically attractive than California.
"These are the kinds of opportunities that we really need, so I would love to be able to court Mr. Musk here in Las Vegas and show him what we have to offer," added Fiore.
Low taxes, a lower cost of living for employees, and plenty of available land are among the top reasons to move the operation to Nevada.
"We would love to court him here in Las Vegas and I personally would love to get them here in Ward 6, and see how we can work together," added Fiore.
Fiore even offered to name a street after Musk's newborn child.
"He may not even need tax breaks as an incentive to get here," said Nevada Assemblyman Tom Roberts, who represents Nevada Assembly District 13.
"He's getting one automatically just by moving from a high tax rate state, California, to a relatively business friendly state like Nevada," added Roberts.
Roberts says the move means high-paying jobs and new tax revenue for the state.
"We need to diversify our economy," said Roberts.
"We are so reliant on gaming and tourism and you can see how that's really going to impact us moving forward and we land more businesses, like Tesla, and other industries into our state, we will be better off when we have times like these again," added Roberts.
Nevada has a history of making big moves when it comes to attracting businesses.
In 2016, electric car maker Faraday Future, had plans to build a massive factory in North Las Vegas but months later the plans fell apart.
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It remains unclear what will happen to Tesla or Musk if the company continues to defy California authorities.
13 Investigates requested comment from Tesla Monday, but it was not immediately returned.
