A tweet from Tesla CEO Elon Musk has ignited a firestorm of Texas cities vying to become the possible new home of the company’s headquarters.
Musk announced Saturday that the car manufacturer's headquarters will move to Texas or Nevada "immediately."
Musk's announcement came after statewide restrictions in California forced Tesla factories to stay closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The mayors of both Fort Worth and Dallas took to Twitter to make a pitch for their cities to become the new home of Tesla.
“We’ve had Tesla here before. I had lunch with Elon Musk several years ago when he was looking for a place for his battery plant,” Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price said. “So, he knows a little bit about Fort Worth. So, I think it is a great time to be recruiting him.”
Price made sure to remind Musk and any other business leaders who were paying attention that Fort Worth has more available space for development than any other major city in Texas.
“We have 70,000 acres to be developed and the next largest city is Dallas with 30,000 acres of undeveloped property. So, we’re more than double,” Price said.
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“We have more green space than any other major city in Texas. We’ve got a lot of places to be built out still. We have a lot of older buildings and things that can be redone,” Price added. “We’ve got lots and lots of opportunities and lots and lots of space. It spreads out. It’s not quite as dense as some cities are and right now that lack of density is a plus for people.”
This comes as the city launches Fort Worth Now – a task force dedicated to a post-COVID-19 economic rebirth.
“Every city is going to lose some jobs and some businesses, so you’ve got to replace them,” Price said. “We want to get the message out. We’re here. We’re ready to help you.”
Price said the city is prepared to send Musk a proposal.
“Who knows if he was really serious or if he was just messing with the California officials, but you’ve got to take advantage of it all now,” Price said.