[bsa_pro_ad_space id=14]
Tesla is preparing to situate a new manufacturing facility in Monterrey, Mexico, according to the Mexican president.
US electric car maker Tesla is due to build a new large-scale vehicle factory in northern Mexico, according to Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Industry journal Automotive News reports a call between Tesla founder Elon Musk and the Mexican president has confirmed the new factory will be located in the Santa Catarina municipality, near the city of Monterrey in Nuevo Leon – 200km south of the nearest US-Mexico border crossing.
No immediate confirmation is forthcoming from Tesla, though an announcement with further details may follow when the car maker hosts its investor day tomorrow morning (8am Sydney and Melbourne time).
It will be Tesla’s first factory south of the United States border and will join recently-built factories in Austin, Texas, as well as Berlin, Germany.
The factory in Mexico represents a change in stance for Tesla, as its CEO Elon Musk has previously criticised rivals Ford and General Motors for building their electric cars there – where labour costs are a fraction of those in the US, and there are fewer employee rights restrictions placed on employers.
However, building cars in the Mexico factory will still allow Tesla vehicles to be eligible for the US government’s new electric-vehicle (EV) rebates, with subsidies of up to $US7500 for cars and batteries built in North America.
Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stated Musk “was very responsive, understanding our concerns and accepting our proposals.”
“I want to thank Mr. Elon Musk for being very respectful, attentive and understanding of the importance of addressing the problem of water scarcity,” he said.
The water scarcity was said to be a key point for the Mexican president, as the northern regions of the country are currently experiencing severe drought, with dams at risk of emptying entirely.
In June the Mexican government was forced to cut water access in the Nuevo Leon region to a maximum of six hours daily, while the president asked businesses and farmers to share their water resources with the broader population.
Tesla has reportedly committed to using recycled water throughout the entire manufacturing process. The car maker may not have been granted permits to build the factory if there was not enough water in the region, according to Automotive News.
Tesla also ran into water issues while getting its Berlin factory up and running.
As part of the Drive content team, Tom covers automotive news, car reviews, advice, and holds a special interest in long-form feature stories.
He understands that every car buyer is unique and has varying requirements when it comes to buying a new car, but equally, there’s also a loyal subset of Drive audience that loves entertaining enthusiast content.
Tom holds a deep respect for all things automotive no matter the model, priding himself on noticing the subtle things that make each car tick. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t learn something new in an everchanging industry, which is then imparted to the Drive reader base.
Read more about Tom Fraser
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=15]