Tesla pushes the limit of self promotion in Fremont

FREMONT, Calif. (KGO) -- A big display of self promotion by Tesla has been given the green light. The electric car maker is set to put up a rather large sign at its Fremont plant.

The sign will be on Tesla's property, on the north side of I-880, just past the Mission Boulevard exit.

On Thursday night, there was an unanimous vote at the planning commission meeting, which means Tesla Motors will erect a 200 by 40 foot illuminated sign. That's about the size of a hockey rink.

The sign won't be a moving, electric sign, but a static one with Tesla's name, logo, and products on it.

Tesla needed special permission to build this sign because of its size, which many on the planning commission even suggested the sign be bigger. Still, the city's and the company's goal is to unite the two entities.

"We employ over 4,000 people, we expect that to grow and we really want to be part of and see ourselves as being a part of your community. To do so though, we need to advertise," Joe Cavanagh from Tesla Motors said.

"It's not something that's going to be distracting or anything else and as mentioned by other commissioners, we're proud to have that brand here in Fremont," Planning Commission Vice Chairman Rick Jones said.

The manufacturing plant itself is 4.5 million square feet, which is huge. This sign will be a fraction of that, of course. That's why no one from the city was worried that it would be too big, but rather that it would be more to scale.

Tesla hopes to have the sign up in a few months and definitely before the end of the year.