[_ea1k]

That doesn't necessarily seem like a terrible sum, if the jobs are sustainable and the 2k is a lower bound.

OTOH, it seems likely the jobs would be created there without this payment, so why do it?

[max-ibel]

Doesn't it all depend a lot of details that are not published ?

If the 2000 jobs are Fraunhofer/Max Planck Institute battery chemistry researchers and engineers, than this is great news and will help developing a solid industrial battery base in Germany. Well done!

If the 2000 jobs are Gabelstaplerfahrer, and all the tech / research is done in the US, then yeah, the investment is mostly in the construction/services sector, which doesn't seem great.

This is oversimplified, but my guess is that Tesla doesn't want to outsource the core tech/research, so we're going to see more Gabelstaplerfahrer and less Fraunhofer/MPI.

[panick21]

Go look at how their manufacturing line works. They don't to do stupid work. They need to control a highly complex chemical manufacturing plant and likely battery recycling plant.

Researching is not the only work that requires more then manual labor.

Go look at Nevada, after the Gigafactory there are now a number of battery companies located there.

[londons_explore]

Batteries are easy and cheap enough to ship - either as cells or completed packs. They'll build the plant wherever gives the most incentives.