'Tulsa for Tesla': US oil city uses 75-foot-tall statue of Elon Musk to lure CEO

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Tulsa, the second-largest city in Oklahoma, has a rich history in the oil business. But its city leaders made a new and creative pitch to woo Tesla into building its next electric car factory there.

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City officials started transforming the town's landmark Golden Driller statue Wednesday, to resemble Tesla CEO Elon Musk, complete with company logos added to the 75-foot-tall structure.

The company has reportedly picked Tulsa and Austin, Texas, as finalists for its new factory that is expected to employ more than 10,000 people. No timeline for a decision has been announced.

Tulsa touts its low tax rates and cost of living as reasons for Tesla to build its next U.S. assembly plant in town. But some neighbors even said they want Musk to go even a step further -- and relocate his company out of the Bay Area entirely.

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"I was trying to explain it in the best terms I can," said Tulsa resident Kimberly Honea.

"We are trying to relocate this company from California to Tulsa to kind of grow our economic development here in the city."

Musk made national headlines last week for threatening to relocate his company out of Alameda County, after county officials ordered him to stop production at the Fremont plant, which had reopened early in sharp defiance of the previous county health order. It even prompted President Trump to weigh in.

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Tesla has since reopened its Fremont assembly factory, in line with current Alameda County health guidelines. The company said it added numerous safety measures for employees, which you can find here.

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