Organized by a Facebook account called Tulsa’s BFF, the event requested that 200 people participate in a group demonstration on the facility’s football field, which asked attendees to arrange themselves in a formation that spelled “Tulsa 4 Tesla.” In light of ongoing safety regulations in place due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, participants were required to wear face masks while photos were taken and an aerial video was recorded. Tulsa-based investment firm Atento Capital coordinated the event in collaboration with George Kaiser Family Foundation.
“The event was grassroots, with participation from people of all walks of life, of all ages, from all over the city,” explained McKenna Raley, a media spokesperson from Atento Capital, in comments to Newsweek. Raley said the group hopes their video will “contribute to a city-wide media blitz to catch the company’s attention and show them the passion Tulsans have.”
Wednesday’s group photo is one branch of a larger Tulsa for Tesla campaign crafted by community members. A series of posts shared to the Tesla Owners Club of Oklahoma’s Facebook page solicited help from local residents in staging three separate events, two of which were scheduled to take place on Wednesday. The events sought vehicle owners, including Tesla owners, to appear in footage the group plans to compile into a video reel.
According to a Tuesday report from KJRH-TV, the club’s “Tulsa for Tesla” video will showcase city landmarks and double as a rally to attract Musk’s attention. The report cites instructions shared to a social media page that is now private.
The day’s demonstrations followed multiple statements from Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum pitching his city as an ideal location for Tesla’s next factory venture.
“This is a city that doesn’t stifle entrepreneurs - we revere them!” he tweeted earlier on Wednesday, linking to an article that showcased Tulsa’s Golden Driller statue refashioned to look like Musk.
The message trailed two others shared to Twitter earlier this week. On May 19, Bynum noted that “the desire from businesses to invest in Tulsa is strong,” after suggesting a Tesla-Tulsa partnership could “change the world” in a tweet two days earlier. The earlier tweet indicated Bynum would use Tesla for an electric police fleet, as its accompanying photo showed one of Tesla’s cybertruck models with a “Tulsa Police” logo printed along the side door.
Musk initially said he was scouting locations to build Tesla’s Cybertruck Gigafactory in early March, noting a preference for central United States regions. Months later, on May 15, an Associated Press report cited unnamed sources who claimed Musk had narrowed his search and was deciding between Tulsa and Austin, Texas.
A handful of U.S. states have recently expressed interest in Tesla operating within their jurisdictions, including Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Las Vegas Mayor Michele Fiore.
After Musk filed a lawsuit against California’s Alameda County—where Tesla’s automobile factory is headquartered—to oppose operating restrictions implemented during the pandemic, debate over whether the CEO would relocate headquarters to another state began to circulate. On May 11, Musk announced that Tesla’s Fremont factory had resumed operations against county orders.
