Reid thinks Tesla could be ‘playing’ Nevada on battery factory

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says he wouldn’t put it past Tesla to be “playing” Nevada on where the site of its massive battery manufacturing plant will be.

Nevada is one of the finalists in a number of possible sites where Tesla CEO Elon Musk could build his “gigafactory,” which is expected to create 6,500 jobs.

{mosads}At the Reno, Nev. site the electric car maker has made substantial headway on a construction pad, the Reno Gazette-Journal reports, but that’s not fooling Reid.

“I would not start counting jobs on Tesla now, anyway,” Reid said during a news conference in his Reno office, according to the Gazette-Journal. “I will say, I’m not sure they aren’t playing us.”

Reid added: “They’ve got pads in several states.”

Reid’s skepticism comes from the “bidding war” he says is going on with California, Texas and possibly a few other states.

He said Nevada has a limit to what it can offer Tesla. In the end, Reid said Tesla will build the factory in the state where it can make the biggest profit.

“I have spoken with [Elon Musk] many, many times, and he is a brilliant man,” Reid said. “And that is probably an understatement. But he is in it to make money. And he’s going to take this Tesla project where he can make the most money.”