BMW to invest $1.7 billion in South Carolina as automaker shifts to electric vehicles
CBSN
BMW will invest $1 billion in its sprawling factory near Spartanburg, South Carolina, to start building electric vehicles and an additional $700 million to build a electric-battery plant nearby.
The German automaker's announcement Wednesday reflects its commitment to transitioning to electric-vehicle production in North America, in line with similarly ambitious plans by other major automakers.
The investment in the 7-million-square-foot vehicle factory in Greer, South Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains would add an unspecified number of jobs to the more than 11,000 workers there.
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launched six space tourists on a high-speed dash to the edge of space and back Friday, giving the passengers — including a husband and wife making their second flight — about three minutes of weightlessness and an out-of-this world view before the capsule made a parachute descent to touchdown at the company's west Texas flight facility.