The Erie County Legislature unanimously passed a resolution introduced by Legislator Dixon that calls on the New York State Comptroller to complete a full audit of the Tesla factory and publicly release the findings.

Recent media reports have indicated that Comptroller DiNapoli is auditing high-tech companies operating in New York State and part of that audit is to focus on the Tesla plant in Erie County. Additionally, Vanity Fair published a piece online that will appear in their October 2019 magazine (How Elon Musk Fooled Investors, Bilked Taxpayers, and Gambled Tesla to Save SolarCity) that suggests Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk have not only fallen short on promises to Western New York taxpayers, but have willfully misled and deceived residents and public officials after receiving $750 million in public dollars.

The resolution, introduced by Legislator Dixon and co-sponsored by Legislators Mills, Rath, and Lorigo, requests the following information to be included in an audit:

• SolarCity and Tesla’s expenditure of the full $750 million in taxpayer funding
• An accounting of the fixtures and equipment located inside the Riverbend factory whether owned by Tesla, New York State, or any other third party
• The production rate of products coming out of the Riverbend factory since the start of SolarCity’s operations through to the present
• Any information regarding any sale or lease of any floor-space inside the Riverbend factory to any third-party, including a full accounting of any payment for said floor space made to either New York State or Tesla
• The status of job creation by SolarCity/Tesla since 2014, including the number of jobs created, the types of jobs created, the salaries for those types of jobs, a comparison between what the state has received and what the initial expectations were

Legislator Dixon said, “The Tesla plant has repeatedly fallen short on its promises and those involved need to be held accountable. As a representative of the district in which the plant is located, I have been denied a tour of the facility after making multiple requests. This lack of transparency is troubling, especially considering the fact that New York State has invested hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into this particular project. I look forward to the completion of the comptroller’s audit and urge him to release his findings to the public. The taxpayers of New York State deserve to know how this money is being spent.”

Legislator Lorigo said, “The public should have access to the details of an audit once it is completed. While elected officials have been denied access to the facility, the picture painted through media reports reflects poorly on the factory, its operations, and lack of output. I look forward to a full report of how these tax dollars have been put to use.”

A copy of Legislator Dixon’s resolution can be viewed here.