Elon Musk has said that Tesla will “probably” pick a location for its next Gigafactory before the end of the year. Musk made the comments during an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, and breaths new life into the hope that Canada could still be a potential location.
For much of last year it looked like Canada was a front runner to be selected as the location for Tesla’s next Gigafactory. Musk made it a possibility by saying in an internal meeting the company was considering sites in Mexico and Canada for their first factory location outside of the US. The possibility was strengthened when it was later discovered that Tesla had been lobbying the Ontario government to build an “advanced manufacturing facility,” while at the same time hiring for a high volume recruiter positions in Quebec.
The hopes for a Tesla Gigafactory in Canada were dashed when Musk officially announced Giga Mexico at Investor Day in March. However, there is still a possibility Tesla will land a major investment from Tesla.
When asked where the most exciting country to build a Tesla plant in is, Musk referenced the Giga Mexico announcement, also saying, “we’ll probably pick another location by the end year.” Canada will of course have some serious competition however, as Musk also said “absolutely,” in response to the follow-up question if India was interesting. Officials from Tesla visited India last week, with the government later saying Tesla was serious about setting up a manufacturing facility in their country.
Elon Musk on which is the most exciting country to build a @Tesla factory now: "We'll probably pick another location towards the end of this year."
On asked if India is interesting, Elon responded: "Absolutely" pic.twitter.com/OwINE5laSv
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) May 23, 2023
Even if Tesla doesn’t pick Canada for a vehicle Gigafactory, they could still be expanding north of the border to strengthen their supply chain. Lobbying documents filed with the Ontario government in April revealed the company is wanting “to identify opportunities for industrial facility, mineral extraction and processing project permitting reforms,” among many other things.
Major Tesla facility in Canada still a possibility, government filings reveal
