Tesla rival to build $700M electric car assembly plant in Arizona

PHOENIX — An electric car company that is seeking to establish itself as a rival to Tesla will do so from a $700 million Arizona plant, Gov. Doug Ducey announced Tuesday.

At a press conference, Ducey said Lucid Motors would build a 500-acre plant in Casa Grande, south of Phoenix, that will employ 2,000 people by 2022. Ducey said Lucid will also look to hire veterans.

Welcome to #Arizona, @lucid_motors! Thank you for choosing #AZ. pic.twitter.com/kzDQrZiUPY

— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) November 29, 2016

Brian Barron with Lucid Motors — who served in the Navy — said the company wants to help veterans get back into the workforce.

Ducey praised his state’s low taxes and light regulations, saying that combination allows businesses to flourish.

“When government takes a back seat to innovation, big things can happen,” he said.

Sonora, Mexico Gov. Claudia Pavlovich Arellano said she and her staff worked with Ducey to convince Lucid to bring its plant to Arizona.

“Lucid Motors will be located in Arizona and supplied, in part, by companies located in Sonora,” she said.

Barron said the company originally identified 60 potential sites in 13 states for its plant.

“We chose Arizona because you showed genuine interest in our company from the outset, because you negotiated in fairness and with understanding and because you continue working together with us from a partnership perspective, and not just a business perspective,” he said.

The plant could be producing cars as soon as 2018.

According to Reuters, the plant would open with the capability to produce 20,000 cars per year, but will eventually be ramped up to build 130,000 cars per year.

Rumors of the plant began floating around in October, when a report surfaced online that Lucid was considering a move to Arizona.

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