This week, the newspaper Reforma published a report stating that Tesla would not finally build a Gigafactory (as it usually calls its car factories) in the state of Nuevo León, which caused a series of speculations about whether this mega-investment would be would carry out.
However, the government of Nuevo León and a senior Tesla executive clarified that the project is still on and explained what phase it is in.
Final permits for Tesla to build an electric vehicle (EV) factory in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León They could be ready in weeks and the local government is beginning the infrastructure work requested by the companya senior official said on Thursday.
In March, Tesla announced plans to open a major plant in Nuevo León, the first in Mexico, which has also attracted investment in electric vehicles from other automakers seeking to meet ambitious production goals. The company has not provided details about construction or production.
Nuevo León Economy Minister Iván Rivas said in an interview that the automaker led by billionaire Elon Musk is considering a larger plant than originally planned and is still drawing up design, architectural and engineering plans.
The federal government is on track to grant environmental approvals within weekshe said, which will allow the electric vehicle manufacturer to begin construction.
“I hope it will be a matter of a couple of weeks, maximum a month,” Rivas said.
Rivas said that only Tesla could address its schedule for Mexico. But he said he expected production to begin much earlier than 2026 or 2027, dates reported last month by Mexican newspaper Reforma, because Nuevo León aimed to quickly deploy infrastructure for water, electricity and transportation.
“We are working to make this happen very soon, so that they have all the infrastructure they need to start as soon as possible,” he said.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
Rohan Patel, senior public policy and business development executive at Tesla, in a post on Platform X, formerly Twitter, rejected a report from a Mexican media that said Tesla had canceled its plans and thanked local, state and federal officials.
“We greatly appreciate your efforts to enable the necessary permits and sustainable infrastructure,” he said.
Nuevo León agreed to build an electric power substation, a gas pipeline, railway branches, roads, and water and sewage servicesaccording to a Memorandum of Understanding with Tesla, seen by Reuters.
Rivas said the projects can be built before or at the same time as Tesla’s own construction and will also benefit other companies.
A high-voltage electrical cable that already runs above the Tesla site will connect to a substation and transformer, he said.
The so-called “Gigafactory” will generate approximately 15 billion dollars in the next two years through Tesla and its suppliersThe governor of Nuevo León, Samuel García, said last month. The state has called for more investment in health, education, roads and basic services to accommodate expected growth.
With information from Reuters.
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Reuters News agency based in the United Kingdom.