Business Briefs: Chattanooga ranks 34 for bike cities

Thursday, September 4, 2014

photo A bike share rack is located in North Chattanooga.

City ranks 34 for bike cities

Chattanooga is the 34th best city in America for biking, according to a new ranking of the cities by Bicycle magazine. The Scenic City was the only city in Tennessee, Georgia or Alabama to be on the magazine's list for the best biking cities in the ranking released Wednesday.

The ratings, which the magazine does every two years, is based upon each city's share of bike commuters, the amount and quality of cycling infrastructure, transportation budgets, civic and political commitment, historical performance and future projections. New York City topped the list, followed, in order, by Chicago, Minneapolis, Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C.


Nevada picked for Tesla plant

Tesla Motors has chosen Nevada as the site for a massive, $5 billion factory that will pump out car batteries for a new generation of less-expensive electric vehicles, a person familiar with the company's plans said Wednesday. Sources said the facility will be built at an industrial park outside Reno, if Nevada approves a package of incentives Tesla negotiated.

Four other states -- California, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico -- were vying for the project and the estimated 6,500 jobs it will bring. Tesla needs what it calls the "gigafactory" to make cheaper batteries for its Model 3, a mass-market electric car the company hopes to sell by 2017 for around $35,000. Currently, Tesla offers only the Model S sedan, which starts at $70,000.