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Free pizza and a 75-foot statue of Musk: the battle for the next Tesla plant

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(Reuters) – Tulsa, Oklahoma, is an oil-industry town with a 75-foot (23 m) statue called “The Golden Driller.”

Austin, Texas, is a progressive city in a conservative state with a thriving software industry and a “Keep Austin Weird” counterculture image.

These two very different towns have one thing in common: They are both on the short list to land a $1.1 billion vehicle assembly plant for Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) – and up to 20,000 new jobs.

With a decision expected within a few weeks, the Austin-versus-Tulsa contest is heating up as Tesla and its chief executive, Elon Musk, stoke a bidding war over tax breaks and other concessions that would reduce the factory’s cost.

Travis County, home to Austin, is expected to vote this week on a portion of ten-year tax rebates totaling more than $65 million. The company told Texas officials the new plant would create at least 5,000 jobs, while Oklahoma officials were told about the creation of at least 7,000 jobs in the near term and up to 20,000 positions down the line.

But some Austin residents have told officials they are skeptical about subsidizing what is now the world’s most valuable auto company, after previously turning away Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O).

“Instead of focusing to get people a living wage … you’re giving tax breaks to a company that’s worth billions. It makes no sense,” Silvia Zuvieta-Rodriguez, a student at the University of Texas, told officials at a recent county hearing.

Tesla in public filings with Travis County said local and state tax incentives “serve a critical role” in getting the new factory under way and successfully compete against longstanding industry rivals. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

In Oklahoma, Tesla fever is on full display.

That Golden Driller statue? It was recently repainted by a local Tesla fan club to look something like Musk, sporting a Tesla logo on its chest and a belt buckle emblazoned with the company’s name.

Musk himself flew in on July 3 to visit the undeveloped site overlooking Tulsa that would house the new factory, which would build Model Y sport utility vehicles and Tesla’s futuristic Cybertruck. Musk met with the state’s governor under a white tent in the sweltering summer heat, according to pictures posted on Twitter by Oklahoma’s governor, Kevin Stitt.

Oklahoma officials were scheduled to make their pitch to dozens of senior Tesla executives in a Zoom call on Monday afternoon.

“The response here continues to be overwhelming,” said Oklahoma Commerce Secretary Sean Kouplen. “In the time that we’re in, having something positive to hold on to or grab is really making a difference.”

Even local retailers have caught the Tesla bug. Kouplen’s children came home the other day with a photo of a special Tesla-themed snow-cone sold by a local store, and a Tulsa pizzeria has promised to give out free pies to all Tesla employees.

Tulsa, once known as the “Oil Capital of the World,” is trying to remake its image with a $1 billion renovation of its downtown, including hip coffeehouses, raft races, jazz clubs and efforts to attract white-collar workers who can work remotely.

A new video featuring testimonials from engineers who recently relocated to Tulsa has been viewed 200,000 times, including by Musk, according to Oklahoma officials.

Several websites attempting to appeal to Tesla have sprung up. One, called “Big F*cking Field,” purports to be in the voice of a plot of land and includes humorously fake endorsements by the likes of Thomas Edison.

“We were the original oil boom town in the ‘20s and it’s a cool way of saying something is changing,” said Jacob Johnson, the creator of the websites and a Tulsa-based digital marketing executive.

In its search for a new plant site, Tesla short-listed eight central U.S. states and received incentive packages from many others, but only Tulsa and Travis County remain in the running. The company told Texas officials its plant would create more than 5,000 mainly low-skilled jobs at an average salary of $47,000.

Oklahoma has signed a nondisclosure agreement about its incentives package, but Kouplen claimed the bid was not only competitive but better in parts than Travis County’s. It includes business and personal tax breaks, most of which were already guaranteed under state law, which meant they would not require the kinds of public votes that have been delayed several times in Austin.

Details on the Travis County tax breaks emerged only during public hearings and it remains unclear whether the state of Texas would provide additional incentives. Governor Greg Abbott’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

Squeezing states for incentives is not new to the auto industry. Tesla itself received some $1.4 billion in incentives to build a battery plant in Nevada in 2014 and Alabama attracted German carmaker Mercedes-Benz (DAIGn.DE) with a $253 million package in the 1990s.

Those outlays now pale compared with the wealth of Musk, who is in reach of a payday potentially worth $1.8 billion as the company’s stock rally continues. Tesla shares have more than quadrupled so far this year as the company increased vehicle sales and is expected to return a second-quarter profit.

Reporting and photo: Reuters

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Feydhoo Hall opens at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives as new event space

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Dusit International, one of Thailand’s leading hotel and property development companies, has announced the opening of Feydhoo Hall, a landmark event venue at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives, redefining the possibilities for meetings, celebrations, and destination events in the Maldives.

Designed to bring scale, flexibility, and creativity to island gatherings, Feydhoo Hall represents a bold step forward in positioning the Maldives as a dynamic destination for conferences, weddings, and large-scale social occasions.

Feydhoo Hall offers a versatile event complex designed to accommodate a wide range of gatherings, from corporate meetings and conferences to weddings and social celebrations.

At its core is the 390 sqm Main Hall, capable of hosting:

  • Up to 300 guests in theatre-style setup
  • Up to 240 guests for dining and banquet-style events
  • Up to 200 guests for cocktail-style receptions
  • Up to 144 guests in cluster-round configuration

Enhancing the flexibility of the venue are additional dedicated spaces, including:

  • A 110 sqm Veranda Terrace, ideal for welcome receptions, breakout sessions, and pre-event gatherings, accommodating up to 100 guests for cocktail-style events.
  • A spacious 1,000 sqm Lawn Space, perfect for large-scale outdoor celebrations, destination weddings, and open-air events, accommodating up to 400 guests for cocktail receptions and up to 350 guests for dining setups.
  • The 55 sqm Ekugai Meeting Room, designed for smaller meetings and executive sessions, accommodating up to 30 guests in theatre or dining setup and 24 guests in cluster-round format.

Together, these integrated spaces create a seamless indoor-outdoor event experience, allowing planners to design dynamic and personalised event journeys.

True to the dusitD2 brand’s lifestyle-driven philosophy, Feydhoo Hall introduces a fresh approach to meetings and events — where productivity meets creativity in an inspiring island setting.

The venue offers flexible meeting formats designed to suit different event needs, including:

  • Half-Day Meeting Package (4 hours) — ideal for focused sessions, executive meetings, and creative workshops.
  • Full-Day Meeting Package (8 hours) — designed for immersive conferences, extended workshops, and large-scale corporate gatherings.

These thoughtfully structured packages provide planners with the flexibility to create impactful and seamless experiences, whether hosting intimate strategy sessions or dynamic full-day events.

Located just seven minutes by speedboat from Velana International Airport, dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives combines accessibility with vibrant lifestyle energy, offering event planners and guests a rare balance between convenience and tropical escape.

With the introduction of Feydhoo Hall, the resort strengthens its position as a versatile destination — not only for leisure travellers but also for international conferences, creative retreats, luxury weddings, and large-scale social celebrations seeking something refreshingly different in the Maldives.

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BBM expands retail presence with new Hulhumalé outlet

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Bestbuy Maldives (BBM) opened a new wholesale store in Hulhumalé Phase 2 on Monday.

The outlet is located on the ground floor of Lot 20286, Nirolhu Magu, and is intended to improve access to BBM’s imported goods for residents of Hulhumalé Phase 2 and for businesses operating in the area.

According to the company, the opening forms part of its plan to expand services closer to customers in line with population growth in Hulhumalé.

With the opening of the new store, BBM’s full range of imported and distributed products will be available at the Hulhumalé Phase 2 location. These include consumer goods from international brands such as Lifebuoy, Vaseline and Unilever.

The store will also stock wholesale food products from brands including Daily, Cavin’s and Redman.

BBM has supplied goods to resorts, hotels and retail outlets across the Maldives for several years.

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Ataraxis Grand & Spa hosts integrated work-and-dive corporate retreat in Fuvahmulah

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Ataraxis Grand & Spa recently hosted a week-long, closed corporate offsite in Fuvahmulah for a US-based artificial intelligence company, highlighting the island’s growing suitability for integrated work-and-experience retreats. The retreat brought a group of 36 international professionals to the property, which was reserved exclusively for the programme.

Designed as a private company offsite, the stay combined structured daily work sessions with guided diving and beginner-friendly surf experiences, creating a balanced format that blended focused collaboration with physical reset.

A notable component of the programme was dive training and certification. During the retreat, 17 participants completed their Open Water certification, while a further six undertook the Advanced Open Water course, with training and dives scheduled alongside work sessions as part of the integrated itinerary.

Throughout the week, participants worked on-site using dedicated shared spaces supported by reliable high-speed internet, allowing meetings, informal collaboration and scheduled activities to take place within a single, uninterrupted environment. This setup enabled teams to move seamlessly between work periods and organised ocean activities without leaving the property.

Fuvahmulah’s natural and operational advantages formed a key part of the retreat’s appeal. As one of the Maldives’ largest inhabited islands, it offers immediate access to pelagic dive sites, internationally recognised shark diving and surf breaks suitable for instruction, alongside the infrastructure required to support extended group stays.

The offsite reflects a growing preference among technology and knowledge-sector teams for small-scale retreats that prioritise concentrated work environments and team cohesion over traditional conference formats. Such programmes typically involve longer stays and higher per-capita spend, aligning with sustainable, quality-driven tourism models.

The retreat also demonstrates how locally operated properties such as Ataraxis Grand & Spa are supporting this shift by delivering unified environments where accommodation, workspaces, connectivity and curated experiences operate as a single programme rather than separate services.

As organisations continue to explore alternative formats for strategy sessions, team resets and creative offsites, Ataraxis Grand & Spa’s experience positions Fuvahmulah as an increasingly viable destination for integrated corporate retreats.

Ataraxis Grand & Spa offers work-and-dive retreat programmes in Fuvahmulah that combine accommodation, dedicated workspaces, high-speed connectivity and organised diving and surfing.

Further information on retreat formats and dive-inclusive stays is available via the Ataraxis Grand & Spa website.

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