Spring Break
Eco-friendly motor company comes to San Jose
Ryan Buchan
Issue date: 9/25/08 Section: News
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The plant is expected to bring in 1,000 jobs, said Rachel Konrad, a Tesla Motors spokeswoman.
"I think it is a great opportunity for the students here at San Jose State University," said Randy Floresca, a senior mechanical engineering major and president of the SJSU chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers International. "Definitely need to take advantage of something like this, especially the engineering students."
Tesla currently produces the Roadster, a sports car, and is looking to produce a sedan called the Model S in its new facility. Tesla cars run on a lithium-ion battery pack, and travel more than 200 miles on a single charge.
"I think it's great on a number of levels," said Bruce Olszewski, an environmental studies lecturer and director of the Center for Development of Recycling. "It's a statement of the strength of our interest, and it's an economic statement of the strength of alternative fuels in the market. … Secondly, of course, it is great for the local economy because it will create jobs for the city and surrounding area."
The factory should also help the city by bringing a larger tax base to the city, said Terry Christensen, a professor of political science.
"It's a good thing for San Jose," he said. "Every city wants jobs and tax base, and these are good jobs - jobs that will pay well, and it supplements the property tax base and sales tax base."
Konrad said Tesla plans to break ground next summer on the new building. First, they would construct the assembly line factory to build cars, and then it would set up its corporate offices.
The planned location is near Highway 237 and Zanker Road.
"It's in an industrial location that (the city of San Jose) have been trying to get a business into for quite a while," Christensen said. "So it sort of fills a gap for San Jose in terms of land use."
Mayor Chuck Reed listed on his Web site that his goal is to create 25,000 clean technology jobs.
"San Jose and the Silicon Valley has become the Detroit of the 1950s," Olszewski said. "What is different between now and being a Detroit, we are talking about clean energy and we are talking about Silicon Valley being a center of innovation."
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