I just read the most RIDICULOUS "news" and I hope you will take the opportunity to learn something here.  The story claimed "Tesla Motors Could Bring 6,500 Jobs To Lubbock".  Now they way that reads, you'd really believe that we're in the running for the plant. With MINIMUM research I was able to find out how completely full of crap this story is.

Sean Gallup, Getty Images
Sean Gallup, Getty Images
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This KCBD online story is that "the landscape in Lubbock" would make a perfect home for the plant.  Horsecrap.  I can now pick this apart from any number of levels. First the article says the plant is looking at either New Mexico or Texas. A simple search shows that New Mexico and Texas were added as options after Nevada and Arizona.  The article also infers that this is about our "wind resources" when the company is actually looking for "wind and solar resources". Then let's look at the fact that apparently no one in Lubbock, in particular, has been contacted (or cited in the article).  So the company hasn't narrowed down to Lubbock, much less Texas (but another search shows Amarillo as already being very aggressive in this when we haven't even talked to them) .  Let's also look at the "Megafactory" they want to build. With the type of facility they want to build near a wind or solar farm, it is almost IMPOSSIBLE that this plant will be "IN" any town and actually adjacent to a metro, meaning a place like one of the small towns outside of Lubbock (or Dallas, or El Paso, or Las Vegas, etc...) is far more likely to land the plant.  Let's also add in the small fact that some analysts don't even think this company is going to make it. So to wrap up this part of the article, unless this t.v. station has facts they haven't published, I'm calling near and complete total bullpuckey on this story.  This "news" is the equivalent of me saying "Lubbock could be the home a zombie outbreak" because we have a. medical research and b. people with teeth who could bit each other.  It is wild, wild, wild speculation.

Now let's look at the reality of the situation.  Lubbock has not invested in wind technology.  We have wind, but so what?  We have some research out at Reece and some at Tech, but that's about it.  The people in Snyder know more about harnessing the wind then Lubbock people do.  If we want to get into the running for stuff like this, we have to do two things-invest in the infrastructure and invest in people to go out and tell the cities story.

I find it complete and totally irresponsible to give people, many who are looking for work, this kind of false hope.  Even worse, other NBC affiliates picked up this story as if had one shred of research behind it.

*UPDATE* Now the A.J.s online component is claiming that "some are speculating that Lubbock could be an option"   to get in on the story.  I guess that would be the writer of the KCBD article doing the speculating.  More crap. All the company has said is that they've narrowed it down to four states. That's it, that's all.  Read between the lines when they try to feed you this nonsense.

***Update*** Despite my admitted disdain for this station, I watched the t.v. version of this story and it was presented in a much more reasonable light.  Too bad they had to try to tease people with the online version to get everyone's attention.

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