After NASCAR, it's hard to imagine a bigger waste of gasoline than Tucson's strategy to woo Amazon. About a week ago, an economic development group that works with the Arizona city loaded a 21-foot saguaro cactus onto a truck headed for Seattle.
It's unclear how far the truck got, or if it ever even hit the road. A spokesperson for Tucson economic development agency Sun Corridor did not respond to The Stranger's request for comment.
Amazon responded today, saying it cannot accept bribes in the form of cacti to curry favor in its search for a second headquarters. Tax breaks, however, are certainly not off the table. The company said it would donate the prickly tower of a plant to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. A representative for the museum confirmed with The Stranger that it has accepted the cactus, and plans to receive it by Friday morning.
Thx @SunCorridorInc! Unfortunately we can’t accept gifts (even really cool ones) so we donated it to @DesertMuseum 🌵 https://t.co/ZJPQfs44cq pic.twitter.com/Fot06Kgs9P
— Amazon News (@amazonnews) September 19, 2017
This post has been updated.