Musk, Rive invite lawmakers to private briefing on energy at Tesla gigafactory with The Revenant as special guest

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his cousin, SolarCity chief Lyndon Rive, hosted a small group of lawmakers at the Northern Nevada gigafactory on Wednesday evening to talk about unlocking the power of renewables in Nevada.

Venture capitalist Nancy Pfund, who has invested in renewables, also was expected at the event at the still-under-construction sprawling complex not far from Reno. The governor's economic development czar, Steve Hill, also was supposed to be there -- Gov. Brian Sandoval and Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison also were invited but could not attend, I'm told.

And as a special treat for the assembled, Leonardo DiCaprio, fresh off his Oscar win, decided to go not to Disneyland but to the next best thing: Storey County. DiCaprio, a solar proponent, just happened to be in the neighborhood for a meeting with Musk.

The pitch, distilled: Fossil fuels are the past; solar is the future, and Nevada is the perfect place to start. Lawmakers can either stick with the utility past or embrace the solar future.

"Lyndon will outline how far technology  has come in the past nine years (pre iPhone!), and the potential for the next nine with solar and storage -- especially important in NV, with the gigafactory and its solar resource, the state has the potential to lead the nation in embracing innovative technologies," said ne person familiar with his remarks.

With the potential for these issues to be on the ballot, thus bypassing the Gang of 63, and chatter about a special session, this is a move to bring the solar cause directly to lawmakers, who hear from NV Energy folks all the time, in session and out.

Caucus leaders were asked whom they wanted to send. The list of those slated to attend:

State Sens. Aaron Ford, Patricia Farley, James Settelmeyer and Kelvin Atkinson and Assemblymen Derek Armstrong, Ellliot Anderson, Teresa Benitez-Thompson, James Oscarson, Paul Anderson and Stephen Silberkraus. 

No word on which ones sought autographs or pictures with The Revenant.

 

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