Tesla in Tulsa

[shavethewhales]

^That site is already taken by the new Sofidel paper plant. Probably plenty of room in the vicinity, but then again that is true for most of the metro.

[OkiePoke]

The rumored site they have been considering is the former PSO Black Fox site which sits next to the navigation channel in between Tulsa and Inola. It is a great location for a large manufacturing operation, whether it be Tesla or some other company.

Isn't that Sofidel?

[BG918]

Isn't that Sofidel?

Sofidel is only the eastern portion. The tract on the river is available and is set up to have a barge terminal.

[ChrisHayes]

The rumored site they have been considering is the former PSO Black Fox site which sits next to the navigation channel in between Tulsa and Inola. It is a great location for a large manufacturing operation, whether it be Tesla or some other company.

Wasn't a paper mill going in there?

[BG918]

Wasn't a paper mill going in there?

Here is a map that shows Sofidel and the other sites within the former PSO property that was originally going to be a nuclear power plant

[Martin]

whether inola or austin, i guess it's all the same...

[LocoAko]

Surely not.... right?

https://mobile.twitter.com/KOCODillo...41179140706305

[gopokes88]

Surely not.... right?

https://mobile.twitter.com/KOCODillo...41179140706305

It's probably the drone guys, Kratos. They manufacture here, HQ is in SD.

[LocoAko]

That makes more sense. And I guess when I saw "aerospace" I thought of Elon because of SpaceX, but Tesla would hardly be considered aerospace anyway. Doh.

[AP]

A pretty great get, though. Tinker continues to be one of, if not THE, biggest assets for the State.

[gopokes88]

Regarding Tesla in Tulsa here's what I heard.

1. Austin and particularity Travis County pissed off some very high ups at Tesla. If there's 10 people who get input, they pissed off like #3-5. Musk is annoyed but not pissed yet. Those Telsa execs are loudly advocating long term Austin is simply California 2.0.
2. The grand gestures were received very well.
3. Lots of the oil money and companies in Tulsa (and one in OKC apparently) made calls and said they would be welcomed. The oil CEOs told Telsa they view the future that there's a need for both. This was received well.
4. Stitt and Musk talk a lot, Stitt promised OU and OSU would receive funding boosts to their engineering programs. Stitt has been full court press. (My opinion; this is exactly why you elect Stitt, if anyone can close the deal and sell Tulsa, it's the guy who built a massive company based on his sales ability)
5. Musk wasn't kidding about being done with California. This site will eventually be the corporate HQ and Tesla will eventually have 0 operations in California. Tulsa has done a lot to slow this down, but ultimately Musk is going to live by this plant, and he loves Austin. That's the tall order right now. It shifted from we can make the things you need here, into does Elon Musk think he can live in Tulsa, Oklahoma one day?
6. Tesla ran a secret poll to various people in the company with a very surprising result. 80% of those polled would be willing to relocate to Austin, but 65% were also willing to relocate to Tulsa. This # was higher than they thought it would be.

Austin is still probably going to get it, but all the momentum is on Tulsa's side.

[gopokes88]

A pretty great get, though. Tinker continues to be one of, if not THE, biggest assets for the State.

Eventually those companies attract enough talent we become a hub for talent. Then we start attracting other aerospace companies that don't work exclusively off government contracts and diversification within aerospace occurs.

[Jake]

Regarding Tesla in Tulsa here's what I heard.

1. Austin and particularity Travis County pissed off some very high ups at Tesla. If there's 10 people who get input, they pissed off like #3-5. Musk is annoyed but not pissed yet. Those Telsa execs are loudly advocating long term Austin is simply California 2.0.
2. The grand gestures were received very well.
3. Lots of the oil money and companies in Tulsa (and one in OKC apparently) made calls and said they would be welcomed. The oil CEOs told Telsa they view the future that there's a need for both. This was received well.
4. Stitt and Musk talk a lot, Stitt promised OU and OSU would receive funding boosts to their engineering programs. Stitt has been full court press. (My opinion; this is exactly why you elect Stitt, if anyone can close the deal and sell Tulsa, it's the guy who built a massive company based on his sales ability)
5. Musk wasn't kidding about being done with California. This site will eventually be the corporate HQ and Tesla will eventually have 0 operations in California. Tulsa has done a lot to slow this down, but ultimately Musk is going to live by this plant, and he loves Austin. That's the tall order right now. It shifted from we can make the things you need here, into does Elon Musk think he can live in Tulsa, Oklahoma one day?
6. Tesla ran a secret poll to various people in the company with a very surprising result. 80% of those polled would be willing to relocate to Austin, but 65% were also willing to relocate to Tulsa. This # was higher than they thought it would be.

Austin is still probably going to get it, but all the momentum is on Tulsa's side.

Regardless of the outcome, I think Tulsa simply giving Telsa something to think about is a win in my book. Never thought they had a chance, and still think Austin will get it, but it's never a bad thing to work hard to put yourselves in contention, and Tulsa has done a great job. Good for them and I feel like it'll pay off in some way in the future. Perhaps not with Tesla, but with a different company.

[Plutonic Panda]

I really hope tulsa gets it. I will hold my breath here because crazier things have happened, right?

[jdizzle]

Regardless of the outcome, I think Tulsa simply giving Telsa something to think about is a win in my book. Never thought they had a chance, and still think Austin will get it, but it's never a bad thing to work hard to put yourselves in contention, and Tulsa has done a great job. Good for them and I feel like it'll pay off in some way in the future. Perhaps not with Tesla, but with a different company.

I still feel OKC would have been an easier sell than Tulsa. Tulsa is doing well, but OKC having OU and OSU within a 1 hour drive would do wonders, since Austin has UT-Austin.

[jedicurt]

I still feel OKC would have been an easier sell than Tulsa. Tulsa is doing well, but OKC having OU and OSU within a 1 hour drive would do wonders, since Austin has UT-Austin.

Tulsa has OSU and U of Arkansas within like 90-100 minutes of it...

[OKC Guy]

Just being in the running can kickstart other companies interest. Lots of big behind the scene agencies get involved and now have great data on Tulsa and Oklahoma in general. Free press as well.

[jdizzle]

Tulsa has OSU and U of Arkansas within like 90-100 minutes of it...

2 hours, but yes, you are right. But OU and OSU have top tier engineering schools, in different areas. I see your point. But when comparing a big fish (Austin) with a small fish (Tulsa), Oklahoma using a medium fish (OKC) might have helped bridge the gap. I hope Tulsa gets it, for OKs sake. Just can't help but wonder if OKC would be the better choice.

[OKC Guy]

I still feel OKC would have been an easier sell than Tulsa. Tulsa is doing well, but OKC having OU and OSU within a 1 hour drive would do wonders, since Austin has UT-Austin.

The other advantage is being closer to Dallas, you can easier pull talent from Dallas to OKC than Tulsa.

[jerrywall]

The other advantage is being closer to Dallas, you can easier pull talent from Dallas to OKC than Tulsa.

It's completely anecdotal and unscientific, but folks I interact with in the tech community have a better perception of Tulsa as a relocation potential than OKC. I don't think the comparisons they would make are accurate (Tulsa is seen as hipper, more urban, younger, more liberal, etc) but the perception is out there in some circles at least.

[GoGators]

2 hours, but yes, you are right. But OU and OSU have top tier engineering schools, in different areas. I see your point. But when comparing a big fish (Austin) with a small fish (Tulsa), Oklahoma using a medium fish (OKC) might have helped bridge the gap. I hope Tulsa gets it, for OKs sake. Just can't help but wonder if OKC would be the better choice.

You can go Norman to Tulsa in less than 2 hours. I understand what you are saying with OKC having OU in the actual metro as a selling point and i definitely agree. But Tulsa does sit in a pretty nice spot in relation to 3 large universities. Of course that does look less impressive when comparing it to having one of the largest public universities in the country in your downtown.

[jedicurt]

You can go Norman to Tulsa in less than 2 hours. I understand what you are saying with OKC having OU in the actual metro as a selling point and i definitely agree. But Tulsa does sit in a pretty nice spot in relation to 3 large universities. Of course that does look less impressive when comparing it to having one of the largest public universities in the country in your downtown.

and Tulsa has a port... something that even Austin doesn't have

[BG918]

and Tulsa has a port... something that even Austin doesn't have

I'm not sure if that is really that necessary for their operations but I'm sure it doesn't hurt. Rail and obviously highway access are absolutely critical; you are significantly closer to the midwest and eastern markets via both in Tulsa vs central Texas.

[gopokes88]

and Tulsa has a port... something that even Austin doesn't have

The port has been a massive selling point. Access to the upper Midwest, gulf, and east coast.

[PhiAlpha]

Regarding Tesla in Tulsa here's what I heard.

1. Austin and particularity Travis County pissed off some very high ups at Tesla. If there's 10 people who get input, they pissed off like #3-5. Musk is annoyed but not pissed yet. Those Telsa execs are loudly advocating long term Austin is simply California 2.0.
2. The grand gestures were received very well.
3. Lots of the oil money and companies in Tulsa (and one in OKC apparently) made calls and said they would be welcomed. The oil CEOs told Telsa they view the future that there's a need for both. This was received well.
4. Stitt and Musk talk a lot, Stitt promised OU and OSU would receive funding boosts to their engineering programs. Stitt has been full court press. (My opinion; this is exactly why you elect Stitt, if anyone can close the deal and sell Tulsa, it's the guy who built a massive company based on his sales ability)
5. Musk wasn't kidding about being done with California. This site will eventually be the corporate HQ and Tesla will eventually have 0 operations in California. Tulsa has done a lot to slow this down, but ultimately Musk is going to live by this plant, and he loves Austin. That's the tall order right now. It shifted from we can make the things you need here, into does Elon Musk think he can live in Tulsa, Oklahoma one day?
6. Tesla ran a secret poll to various people in the company with a very surprising result. 80% of those polled would be willing to relocate to Austin, but 65% were also willing to relocate to Tulsa. This # was higher than they thought it would be.

Austin is still probably going to get it, but all the momentum is on Tulsa's side.

A pretty solid situation that works for both cities would be Austin getting the HQ and Tulsa getting the plant. Everyone wins...except California which I’m fine with.