Tesla Motors, a California start-up automotive company, put the brakes on proposals from North Carolina and chose Albuquerque, N.M., instead for its first car plant. The plant will employ 400 people and cost $35 million, according to a news release from the New Mexico governor's office.
The News & Record previously reported that Tesla had received numerous proposals from developers throughout North Carolina. A 600-acre site, owned by Samet Corp., was thought to be on Tesla's short list.
That site, just inside Mebane, is a remnant from the 1,200-acre property offered to Mercedes-Benz in 1993 for a production plant. The German car maker also opted to build elsewhere.