Candidates Clash Over Tesla Deal in California Gubernatorial Debate
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California Office of Governor(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Tensions flared at California gubernatorial debate Thursday as the two candidates discussed electric car maker Tesla’s decision to take its business to Nevada.
The only scheduled debate of this year’s governor’s race fell on the same day Nevada’s Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval announced that California-born Tesla would build its battery factory in the Silver State.
GOP candidate Neel Kashkari called out incumbent Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, saying he failed to do enough to land the Tesla plant in a multi-state bid.
“I don’t think Governor Brown did nearly enough on Tesla and any other number of businesses. Governor Brown frequently says, ‘Well businesses come and go,'” Kashkari said. “It’s not businesses coming and going, it’s Tesla, it’s Toyota, it’s Schwab, it’s Nestle, on and on and they’re all going.”
The challenger added that for four years in a row, California ranked 50th out of 50 states for business climate while Brown has been in office.
The governor reponded by claiming that the Golden State is number one when it comes to renewable energy and electric car production.
“When Tesla wanted to build an electric car, they built it in Freemont, California, and cars are coming off the line every day. Electric cars are a big part of our future,” Brown said. “We have a million electric car goal in California and we’re going to meet it.”
“We fought hard for Tesla but Tesla wanted a massive upfront payment that I don’t think would be fair to the taxpayers of California,” the governor added.
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