Rome Sentinel

NEW SHOWROOM

Oneida Indian Nation to partner with Tesla

The Oneida Indian Nation announced a new initiative on Tuesday that it said would help eliminate obstacles to electric vehicle ownership in Upstate New York.

The Oneida Indian Nation and Tesla have entered into a partnership to develop the automaker’s first Sales, Service, and Delivery Center in the region. Located on the Oneida Indian Nation homelands, just off Exit 34 on the New York State Thruway, the new showroom is expected to open by 2025.

“We are proud to expand access to EVs in Upstate New York,” said Oneida Indian Nation Representative and Oneida Nation Enterprises CEO Ray Halbritter. “This initiative and partnership with Tesla align with the Nation’s commitment to environmental stewardship, the constant diversification of our enterprises and warm hospitality for all who enter our ancestral homelands.”

“As we look towards the future, we know that these guiding principles will serve as an anchor for the economic development required to sustain our region and the Oneida people for many generations to come,” Halbritter added.

“Tesla’s partnership with the Oneida Indian Nation is an opportunity to make electric vehicles and charging infrastructure more accessible to Nation members and the residents of Upstate New York,” said Rohan Patel, vice president of public policy and business development for Tesla.

This partnership between the Oneida Indian Nation and Tesla is made possible by the 2013 Settlement Agreement between the Oneida Indian Nation, New York state, and Oneida and Madison counties. Under the agreement, the Nation has paid more than $600 million to the state and the local counties in consideration for, among other things, the state’s recognition of Oneida’s sovereign right to pursue responsible land use and economic development initiatives without interference, the announcement said.

This Tesla partnership also continues the Nation’s commitment to environmental stewardship, Nation officials said.

The sale of Tesla vehicles on Oneida Indian Nation land will generate funds that will be dedicated to supporting Oneida government programs and services for Nation members, with no loss of tax revenues to local communities. Pursuant to a 2020

Memorandum of Understanding between the Nation and the state Department of Taxation and Finance, Tesla will remit the state’s portion of its sales tax collections on all EVs sold to the Oneida Indian Nation, which will dedicate these funds exclusively to supporting Oneida government programs and services such as public safety, healthcare, education and environmental conservation. Tesla will continue to remit all county sales tax collections to the county where the buyer lives.

Additionally, the Nation and Tesla are already working closely together to expand Upstate New York’s EV charging infrastructure to support the region’s EV drivers as demand for these vehicles grows.

In addition to a 25,000-squarefoot SSD center constructed on Nation lands at the current site of the SavOn convenience store in Canastota, the Nation also plans to construct a new Maple Leaf Market across the street, as well as the brand-new retail plaza noted above at the same site. These new enterprises will create hundreds of construction jobs and a variety of new permanent full- and part-time positions.

“We are happy to see the Oneida Indian Nation continue to invest in our communities, and look to the future to bring good things to the region,” said John Becker, chairman of the Madison County Board of Supervisors. “The area just off Exit 34 is an ideal location for the new showroom, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome Tesla and all current and future Tesla drivers to Madison County thanks to this partnership.”

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2023-06-07T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-07T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://romesentinel.pressreader.com/article/281513640549021

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