Tesla has been banned from conducting business within Atlantic City for the next five years. The firm, which is known for its electric cars, is run by billionaire Elon Musk. Its ban comes from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. The reason for the ban is that Tesla is not an approved vendor in the city and casinos are therefore banned from conducting any form of business with the company.
Tesla Refuses to Fill in Required Forms
The gambling regulator in New Jersey stated that Tesla had not done any business in Atlantic City in 2018. However, it was noted that there are several Tesla charging stations located between the Golden Nugget and the Borgata. The decision to stop it from doing business with casinos in Atlantic City reportedly came after the company refused to complete the forms needed to become a licensed vendor.
After requesting that Tesla complete the forms, the company did not. When further contact was made, the automotive firm claimed that the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement was harassing the company and requested no further contact be made. It is not known if it was seeking further business from Atlantic City casinos in the future.
Tesla’s Gambling Link
Tesla may not be the first thing people think about when they think about casinos, but there are a few links between the firm and the gambling industry. One of its investors and board members is Larry Ellison. He has a $1 billion stake in the firm and recently bought the Cal Neva casino resort in Lake Tahoe. This location used to be a famous Rat Pack hangout and was owned by Frank Sinatra. Ellison is currently working on renovating the property, and the plan is to reopen it as a five-star casino resort.
In addition to this, it was recently revealed that Elon Musk has been selling valuable and unused tax credits to Nevada casinos. Nevada convinced Musk to build the Gigafactory in the state and provided it with $195 million in transferable tax credits. These credits would be provided over a seven-year period, beginning in 2016, but if they aren’t used, they do expire. Since Tesla is yet to make any profits, these credits are not currently needed, so the firm has been selling them, with Las Vegas casinos purchasing many of them.
