Dec 5, 2008 11:58 pm US/Pacific
Newsom, Reed Ask Congress Not To Bailout Big 3
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / KCBS) ―
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Breon Edwards assembles the 2004 Ford Focus on Dec. 4, 2003, at the Wayne Stamping and Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich.
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
Mayors Gavin Newsom and Chuck Reed have jointly sent a letter to congress, urging lawmakers not to let a Detroit bailout hurt businesses in Silicon Valley.
Instead of using funds from the $700 billion bailout package to help the Big 3 Automakers, the Bush Administration wants to tap into so-called "innovation" funds, money already being counted on by businesses in Silicon Valley.
"That'd be a big mistake
that'd be compounding errors," said Reed.
In Silicon Valley, Tesla Motors is planning to build a 700,000 square foot manufacturing plant for it's Tesla Roadster, a sports car that runs entirely on battery power. In their letter, the mayors say that the company may be forced to defer its plans to build the manufacturing plant, which could cost at least a thousand jobs.
"We have a vehicle right here, in Silicon Valley that gets 200 miles on a battery charge, Tesla Motors produces it, let's not kill that. We need to support innovation and not just dump money into the Big Three," said Reed.
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