County commissioners ask for Tesla to relocate to St. Johns County

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Commissioners from St. Johns County voted Tuesday morning to officially ask Elon Musk and the Tesla Company to move to St. Johns County.

Earlier this month, Musk was tweeting about how the stay-at home restrictions in Alameda County, California were “facist” and robbed people from their freedom of going back to work. Since then, several cities and states have reached out to Tesla saying they are more than welcome to relocate the car-making plant. That now includes St. Johns County.

"Tesla, Inc., is hereby respectfully and enthusiastically invited to consider St. Johns County, Florida, as a potential destination in the relocation of its headquarters or any future programs," the resolution states.

The resolution also states several facts about St. Johns County, listing why it would be a good place to relocate the headquarters.

“St. Johns County, while we have experienced a devastating virus, we are still open for business and we have got to employ our residents so they can put food on the table,” Commissioner James Johns said.

This vote was a followup to a discussion by the commissioners on May 19.

“When Elon Musk talked about moving his company out of California, and they already have some operations in the state of Florida, I thought, why not ask to see what their needs are and if it’s a good fit for our community,” County Commissioner James Johns said.

Johns, who represents District 1, started the process on the resolution. Within a week, he said it was crafted and present to the Board.

“It’s two pages of benefits that St. Johns County has to offer,” Johns said. “With a highly educated workforce, easy access to the interstate, a lot of land that is suited for this type of business without impacting the environment and the wetlands.”

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