Canoo Electric Vehicles selects Oklahoma for plant

[Anonymous.]

Just announced this morning, Tulsa will be home to Canoo. Looks like at least 2000 jobs.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...301314784.html

[Pete]

I've been tracking this for a while...

OKC made a major pitch and they were trying to get them to build at I-240 and Eastern:

[FighttheGoodFight]

Those are some odd loving vehicles but I hope to see some of them on the road!

[jedicurt]

Pete, do you know what Tulsa was offering that OKC didn't?

[Pete]

Pete, do you know what Tulsa was offering that OKC didn't?

No, the details are never public unless there is a done deal that requires approval of incentives.

I do know there was an issue with the OKC site due to a high-pressure gas line that runs through the middle.

Don't know if that made it more difficult to give them a good deal, but it seems likely.

[shawnw]

There's a 2pm news conference about the "mega micro" factory.......

[catcherinthewry]

There's a 2pm news conference about the "mega micro" factory.......

Are they producing jumbo shrimp?

[shawnw]

Are they producing jumbo shrimp?

I mean, they're making cars that are named after a boat, so anything is possible...

[jedicurt]

I do know there was an issue with the OKC site due to a high-pressure gas line that runs through the middle.

Don't know if that made it more difficult to give them a good deal, but it seems likely.

lol... so much land in OKC... and of course we can't find any good land for them... /facepalm

[Jake]

Good for the Tulsa area.

[Martin]

lol... so much land in OKC... and of course we can't find any good land for them... /facepalm

just east of the freight yard seems like a pretty good spot for a manufacturing plant, to me.

[Pete]

lol... so much land in OKC... and of course we can't find any good land for them... /facepalm

I don't know if that was an issue, just sharing what I know.

To be fair, OKC wins many more of these types of deals than does Tulsa.

[GoGators]

Good for Tulsa. They were probably ahead of the game on their pitch after doing all of the leg work courting the Tesla factory. Seems like a good win for the state. I just hope it actually happens. These EV startups are looking pretty shaky right now.

[BG918]

This will be near Google's data center in between Pryor and Chouteau, so not Tulsa per se but nearby. The Tesla site is still available if/when either Tesla or another manufacturer wants to build a plant and is in East Tulsa.

[PoliSciGuy]

Stinks for OKC to miss out, but good for the state overall. Hope more follow!

[chssooner]

This is not just good for the Tulsa area (about an hour or so from Tulsa), but also for the state. Increases property taxes, increases state income tax revenue and sales tax revenue will also go up. Not bad for the state as a whole.

[baralheia]

^^

I agree. I'm a bit sad that OKC wasn't selected for this manufacturing plant but still glad they landed within Oklahoma.

[David]

Does this company make vehicles anywhere else? Have they ever made a vehicle, and is there any reason to believe they'll be producing a finished product at that plant location somewhere down the line?

Based on my brief googling earlier I can't help but think the answers to all of the above is 'no'.

[Pete]

^

I started following Canoo several months ago and the whole company has been in disarray, including a recently opened SEC investigation, the departure of the CEO and other key execs, and a class-action lawsuit brought by shareholders.

I know they met with economic development reps here in OKC but everyone involved knew that Canoo is far from a sure thing.

Hope it all works out and the state sees benefit.

[FighttheGoodFight]

They might go the Rivian route and basically make a car in hopes a bigger manufacture will buy it out.

[shavethewhales]

The company looks iffy, and I'm scared to get my hopes up, but the interest in the state and Tulsa area is good I guess. Their designs look weird, but apparently the tech is decent and the prototypes work well. I agree that they may be looking to get bought out. Hopefully we still end up with something. The van design looks interesting, and the truck is pretty utilitarian even with it's stupid front end design.

[Plutonic Panda]

I wonder if the inland water port was a deciding factor.

Either way, this is great news and hopefully it is built and actually happens. Some of these EVs are bound to not pan out. I am happy a car maker finally selected Oklahoma for a production plant. The term “mega micro factory” is a bit oxymoronic but okay.

[Jersey Boss]

Does this company make vehicles anywhere else? Have they ever made a vehicle, and is there any reason to believe they'll be producing a finished product at that plant location somewhere down the line?

Based on my brief googling earlier I can't help but think the answers to all of the above is 'no'.

They partnered with Dutch Company NEDCAR to start production on 2022 & 2023 vehicles.

[Jersey Boss]

The company looks iffy, and I'm scared to get my hopes up, but the interest in the state and Tulsa area is good I guess. Their designs look weird, but apparently the tech is decent and the prototypes work well. I agree that they may be looking to get bought out. Hopefully we still end up with something. The van design looks interesting, and the truck is pretty utilitarian even with it's stupid front end design.

I wonder if the "Eye Brow" added them to his portfolio?

[GaryOKC6]

You have to remember that the governor lives and has his company in Tulsa. He naturally tends to push projects that way.