A major Tesla investment in Mexico is getting closer to reality. On Tuesday Rohan Patel, the automaker’s Senior Global Director, Public Policy and Business Development, and Eugenio Grandio, Tesla’s Business Development and Policy lead for Latin America, met with Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard. In a tweet following the meeting the minister said to expect “more good news soon.”
After opening two new factories in Giga Berlin and Giga Texas in 2022, Tesla has been on the hunt for the location of the next big facility. Documents uncovered last year have shown that Tesla has been lobbying in Canada to build an “advanced manufacturing facility” north of the border. We also learned last year from Elon Musk that along with Canada, his company was also considering Mexico as a potential location for the next North American Gigafactory.
While we don’t know yet what type of facility might be built in Mexico, it looks like we will get answers to both those question soon, according to a tweet from the Minister on Tuesday.
“I appreciate the visit of Rohan Patel, Tesla’s Director of Business Development as well as Eugenio Grandio, Market Director in Mexico. There will be more good news soon,” the tweet said (translated by Google, via Reuters)
Agradezco la visita de Rohan Patel , Director de Desarrollo de Negocios de Tesla asà como de Eugenio Grandio , Director de Mercado en México. Pronto habrá más buenas noticias. pic.twitter.com/8dbTsodM1n
— Marcelo Ebrard C. (@m_ebrard) February 14, 2023
As to where Tesla’s potential Mexican facility will be built, the leading contenders are the state of Nuevo León, or near Mexico City’s new airport. The proximity to Giga Texas would make Nuevo León a great candidate for a facility, but being near the Mexico City airport could also be beneficial as it could serve as an export hub for Tesla.
Based on comments from Emmanuel Loo, the deputy secretary of economic development for Nuevo León, the land near Mexico City appears to be the winning location. Following rumours an announcement was coming in December, Loo indicated discussions with Tesla were not progressing quickly and that a potential decision might not be made in 2023. That compares to comments made by Ebrard earlier this month in which he said Tesla was “very close” to making an announcement.
