The Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, confirmed this Tuesday that Tesla will install an electric vehicle plant in the northern city of Monterrey, Nuevo Leónafter his call on Monday with the magnate Elon Musk and months of political struggle to define the headquarters of the investment.
“Things are going well, we talked yesterday with Mr. Elon Musk, the director of Tesla. There is already an understanding, yes they are going to dedicate the investment to Mexico and the plant will be established in Monterrey, with a series of commitments to face the problem of water scarcity. They are going to help in this regard,” said the president.
In his daily press conference, López Obrador put an end to months of speculation about the arrival in the country of a Musk plant and disagreements in the federal government about where to install the assembly company, whose details and investment cannot yet be revealed.
“I do not want to expand more informationbecause I think that tomorrow this announcement will be released in detail by the company, Teslaand also some commitments will be made known and next week other commitments ”, argued the president.
The arrival of Tesla is confirmed after a political controversy because Federal officials intended for Tesla to be installed near the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), López Obrador’s priority work for the Mexican capital, but Musk visited Nuevo León, a state governed by the opposition, in October.
The president even warned last week that would not give the permits for Tesla to settle in Monterrey, capital of Nuevo León and the second most populous city in the country, which last year suffered a drought that restricted water for human consumption for months.
But López Obrador now affirmed that he spoke last Friday and this Monday with Musk, whom he considered “very respectful, attentive and understood the importance of addressing the problem of water scarcityTherefore, “there is a first commitment, which is the use of recycled water in the entire automobile manufacturing process.”
“He was very receptive, understanding our concerns and accepting our proposals, which will be announced starting tomorrow, this will mean considerable investment and many jobs,” he said.
Tesla comes “complete to Mexico”
Without further details, López Obrador announced that “the complete company is coming”, although “the manufacture of the batteries was pending”.
“I am satisfied with what was achieved because it means more investment for Mexico and more jobs, and this also leads to an increase in the wages of workers”, he highlighted.
The president warned Musk that in Mexico there are not the same subsidies as in the United States for the manufacture of electric car batteries and semiconductor chips.
“He understood it perfectly and we talked about the fact that, without these subsidies, Mexico’s comparative advantages are unique in the world and we agreed, and that made me very happy, that the main resource of Mexico is the quality of its workers”, he stressed.
MORE NEWS:
EFE International news agency based in Madrid and present in more than 110 countries.
