Factories will _not_ "still get built" if somewhere else is a more favorable economic deal.
See manufacturing's move to Asia, from 1970-present.
Nevada giving incentives to have a factory built is no more corruption than tariffs to protect imports/exports is corruption. You can argue if it's a good or bad thing, but it's definitely not illegal nor should it be illegal.
That doesn't make much logical sense. If you think it's a bad thing you would want it to be illegal so that it doesn't happen. Just like if you think tariffs are bad that they should be illegal.
Maybe not illegal in the criminal sense, but illegal as in regulated to not be allowed makes perfect sense.
We are not living in a libertarian society, though I guess you can believe we should if you want.
Not at all. These are good things because they force states to not go out of control, to practice restraint in taxation and expenditures, while at the same time providing proper services to people and companies.
Like I said in another comment these types of deals are turning governments into quasi-investors. They put money up front with the intention that decades later it will pay off. What if some of these projects fail before the pay off?
Up to this point these deals have largely paid off. But if this starts becoming the norm, and government leaders start coming under pressure to outbid each other, I fear for what might start transpiring. Elected officials that are looking to score points for the next election are not someone I'd trust making these long-term decisions.
It doesn't seem as difficult competitively as eg picking stocks on wall st is what I'm trying to say.
Not yet. But I'm a bit worried about the future. The governors in California and Texas are going to take quite a bit of flack from this. The bidding war for these types of projects is likely to get fiercer. As competition between states increases, the margins will get ever slimmer.
Many of the 6500 workers at the gigafactory won't be able to afford a Tesla, but at least they'll be able to put food on the table.
See also: why are professional sports teams able to force cities to pay for their stadiums? If the federal government disallowed this type of interstate competition, the factories and stadiums would still get built but their owners would pay their fair share in taxes.