Tesla is apparently no longer interested in building a Gigfactory in Spain as the company has reportedly pulled out of negotiations with the regional government of Valencia after news of their negotiations leaked to the media.
Earlier this month we reported that Tesla was close to signing a deal to build a Gigafactory in Valencia, a deal that could have been worth as much as €4.5 billion (US$4.8 billion/C$6.5 billion). After news of a possible deal emerged, a spokesman for Valencia’s regional government confirmed with a local media outlet that meetings and conversations about a “large automobile investment” had taken place, and that the discussions were “very advanced.”
Tesla was apparently furious about the leak, and despite being well into negotiations, talks have broken down and the company no longer considers Valencia as a potential Gigafactory location. The abrupt change was reported by Valencia’s Digital Economy newspaper, citing sources that had spoken with the current President of the Valencian Government Ximo Puig. Puig has denied it was him that leaked the details of the negotiations to the media.
While Spain now appears to be out of the running in becoming the home of Tesla’s next Gigafactory, other countries are doing what they can to attract the large investment. France has also put its name into Tesla’s hat with President Emmanuel Macron meeting with CEO Elon Musk earlier this month. During that same trip to Europe Musk also met with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. India is also in contention, with Musk promising a significant investment in the country “as soon as humanly possible” after an in-person meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week.
