Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As New York State continues to negotiate a new contract that would extend Tesla's Buffalo Gigafactory lease, a local law maker questions whether or not it would be beneficial.
New York Assemblyman Pat Burke argues that the company is overvalued and hasn't shown proof of profitability, especially in Buffalo.
"For what they make in profit versus the valuation of the company is way out of whack. Most of that is based on speculation. Historically, it's been based on speculation of Elon Musk as this sort of futuristic genius. It's all speculative on the future value of Tesla, of which we haven't seen, and we've certainly seen real indicators of of the Tesla plant not working the way they said it was going to. Even the original plan to create solar panels, they have solar panels on top of the Tesla plant. Only problem - they weren't made by Tesla.," stated Burke in an interview with WBEN.
Burke says that, in addition to the company’s history of not following through on promises made to the state and county, the facility is lacking manufacturing jobs despite being intended for manufacturing.
"A lot of the jobs that they are hiring for are data entry in AI related jobs. They're not necessarily like plant or manufacturing adjacent. Even the argument that, 'wow, you know this facility is necessary because..' Well, it's not necessarily the case. You don't need a manufacturing facility for the types of jobs that are being put in the Tesla plant," explained Burke.
Burke says he can't change the past, but moving forward, he would like to start seeing his community benefiting from the facility.
"I would like to see actual manufacturing jobs, like real robust manufacturing jobs. And I would certainly like to see my constituents benefit from that. I know a ton of people in Buffalo. I know a ton of people in South Buffalo, where the plant is located. You know what? I don't know many people who work at Tesla. That's what I would like to change. I would certainly like to see the real benefit to my community, in my district, in jobs, and real economic growth, which we haven't really seen," stated Burke.