/ WXXI News Dozens of people protested Friday, March 28, 2025 outside a Tesla showroom in Henrietta, Monroe County, raising signs critical of company CEO Elon Musk, his Department of Government Efficiency and President Donald Trump. A lawmaker is pushing the state to hit the brakes on signing a new tentative agreement with Tesla to operate a major state-owned factory it leases in Western New York. Assemblymember Pat Burke, a Democrat from Buffalo, argues that the 2014 deal that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo cut with the electric automaker hasn’t panned out. He said he has concerns about the future of the company, whose CEO Elon Musk has become the face of the Trump administration’s mass cuts to the federal workforce. “Is this who you really want to be in bed with?” Burke told the New York Public News Network. “We already lost a ton of money. Are we going to lose more money? We don't have the answer for that, but I don't know if the answer is to get into another bad deal.” Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration began renegotiating the state’s arrangement with Tesla last year and reached a draft agreement in January to extend the company’s lease on South Buffalo’s sprawling “gigafactory” for another five years. The agreement would also reduce the company’s total required job count. State officials said the company remains a major employer and the draft agreement includes promises of additional investment and higher rent payments. It must still be approved by the board of Empire State Development — the state economic development authority — officials said. Burke’s criticism is part of a growing backlash against Tesla across the state. In New York City, a candidate for comptroller is pledging to divest city pension funds from Tesla stock. Protesters have demonstrated against the Musk-led overhaul of the federal government at Tesla dealerships from Rochester to White Plains. And last week, a pair of Albany-area lawmakers introduced a bill that would effectively revoke the company’s special permit to operate its five dealerships across the state. But the Buffalo factory is New York’s biggest tie to Tesla, and members of both parties have long panned the facility as a boondoggle. At Cuomo’s direction, the state spent almost $1 billion to build and equip the facility before it opened in 2016. The site wasn’t originally planned as a factory for Tesla. Cuomo envisioned a plant that would make solar panels and originally partnered with a company called Silevo. That firm was absorbed by SolarCity, which Tesla acquired in 2016. The company initially promised to create 3,460 jobs across the state, including 1,460 “high tech” manufacturing jobs at the Buffalo plant. The state subsequently amended the job commitment requirements several times, reducing the overall job count and loosening the definition of which jobs qualify. The company employed 2,883 people in New York at the end of last year, according to a letter filed with state officials. Burke and other legislators said they’ve been disappointed with those numbers. Many of the jobs include data entry work that is less desirable than the “high tech” manufacturing jobs that were initially promised, according to state Sen. Sean Ryan. “It’s a big white elephant. It’s become Buffalo’s version of the Springfield monorail,” said Ryan, a candidate for Buffalo mayor, referencing a "Simpsons" episode that satirized municipal infrastructure decisions. Though he said he’s frustrated by the situation, Ryan said he didn’t feel there was any better option than amending the agreement with Tesla. “Moving forward doesn’t cost us any money,” he said. “That’s the only move we have.” Others are more skeptical. Dan Vicente, a regional director of the United Auto Workers, said Tesla was a bad employer led by a bad CEO, and New York officials should do everything in their power to wring more concessions. “If you want us to give you subsidies, what are we going to get out of you in return?” Vicente said. “We're subsidizing Tesla — the company that the CEO is actively attacking our democracy,” he continued. “Governor Hochul, I believe, sees herself as a future leader of the Democratic Party. If that's how you want to see yourself, take bold action, take bold steps and be a true leader.” In a letter to state officials in February, Tesla executive Jeffrey Munson said the company employed more than 2,000 people making chargers in the Buffalo area and has invested a cumulative total of $2.89 billion in the state. “This past year has been another excellent year for Tesla in Buffalo and throughout the state,” wrote Munson, the company’s director of treasury and capital markets. “Tesla remains committed to making Gigafactory New York a world-class advanced manufacturing center.” Tesla did not respond to emails requesting comment. Darren McGee