By Mike Ramsey | The Wall Street Journal
Tesla Motors Inc. has nearly tripled its land holdings in Nevada in recent months, purchasing nearly 2,000 additional acres near Reno as it continues work on a factory intended to build batteries for electric cars and stationary backup batteries.
Tesla originally purchased 1,000 acres in 2014, when it struck a deal to locate outside Reno in nearby Storey County. But that agreement included options to purchase additional land in a region with relatively little in the way of manufacturing activities.
The land purchases, occurring in April and May, happened during a period when Tesla’s finances already are strained by retooling its assembly plant in California for a new product, building fast-charging stations globally and constructing the battery plant.
