Open letter to Elon Musk: Why Tesla should build the Gigafactory in New Mexico

Elon,

I am going to give you one more reason to build the plant here.  Mayor Berry and Governor Martinez and their hardworking staff have already given your people a great breakdown on the economic reasons to come here.  We have the land, we have the workforce, we'd love to have your factory.

I can't add anything to that aspect of it.

The one thing I will add is this:  if you build it here it will make a real difference to the State of New Mexico.  For too long we have been dependent of the Federal Government for our economic sustenance.  Not that we don't love having Sandia and LANL here, of course we do; and Tesla might like having access to the Boffins there also.  But we don't have private industry here the way the other states in the running do.

There was a chart published recently of the largest (by revenue) business in every state.  New Mexico was one of only two states (the only other was South Dakota, if I read it correctly) where the largest local business is a non-profit.  Of course we also love Presbyterian Healthcare, but let's face it, our private sector could use some help.

I love my Roadster, love driving it, love telling people that electric motors have full torque at zero RPM  (I heard that, then I sent in my down payment all those years ago), love that I have a "full tank" every morning and never have to stop at a gas station.

I also love this State, the open spaces, the big sky, the smell of the air after a summer storm.

Tesla is in the business of changing the world for the better.  You could also change New Mexico for the better.  News of the ground breaking in Nevada has us all in a bit of a nervous tizzy.  A ground breaking here in would be a real breath of fresh air for the business community, and all the people of the state.

From one Tesla guy* to another,

Robert

* I was the first Tesla owner in the state, which is a source of pride, and a matter of some small notoriety -- it's why some people here call me "the Tesla guy".   Of course we both know who the real one is.

Maybe the Dutch should upgrade their military

A few weeks ago, Putin's goons shot down a plane flying from Schiphol to Malaysia, and the Dutch can do nothing.

Well, Russia is a big country, and a Nuclear Power, so maybe nothing could be done regardless.  But what about Venezuela?  If you are vulnerable to Venezuelan gunboat diplomacy, perhaps you should rethink the idea of outsourcing all of your defenses to the USA.

Just a thought.