City of Joplin, Chamber offer Tesla $1 billion package to locate manufacturing facility here

The City of Joplin and Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce pitched a $1 billion package to Tesla to locate a manufacturing facility here.

The company recently announced it is seeking to locate a manufacturing facility in the midwest.

Chamber President Toby Teeter made the announcement during the COVID-19 briefing this morning at City Hall.

The package includes the following:

-1,000 acres in Wildwood Ranch at a 50 percent discount

-100 percent tax abatement for 12 years

-State and local sales tax exemptions

-A work force that the company will not have to pay as much








In the pitch, city and Chamber officials emphasized the area's access to I-44 and I-49, it being only 15 minutes from the Joplin Regional Airport, access to BSNF Railroad, a workforce of 130,000 within a 20-mile radius and 279,000 within a 30-mile radius and a large number of battery engineers.

The announcement was one of two made by Teeter during the briefing.

The Chamber has created a website, choosejoplin.com, designed to attract talent and businesses to the Joplin area.

"It's our opportunity to tell our story and our brand," Teeter said.

Teeter also offered an update on the Chamber project to get protective masks to health care workers, those working with senior citizens, essential workers, law enforcement and the public.









The first 10,000 masks arrived and are being distributed with the health care workers receiving theirs first and 400 masks being taken to the Joplin Police Department and the Jasper County Sheriff's Office Friday.

Masks are being delivered today to the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office and Baxter Springs Police Department, Teeter said.

At the beginning of the briefing, Joplin Mayor Gary Shaw praised the community's essential workers and asked city residents to "say a prayer for them and be thankful for what they are doing for us."