Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is eyeing a site near Mexico City for an assembly plant as Elon Musk’s electric vehicle giant prepares to ramp up expansion into another gear in future.
The site would “take advantage” of the nearby Felipe Angeles international airport for exports, Mexican presidential spokesperson Jesus Ramirez told Reuters, building on a site just two miles from the airstrip.
Representatives of the company have already viewed the site, he added.
Although Tesla has not yet confirmed the plans, there has been speculation that Musk is looking to build new infrastructure south of Donald Trump's border wall.
Local newspaper Reformer reported in December that Tesla had earmarked up to US$1bn for a new gigafactory in Northern Mexico.
Tesla currently has four factories in the US, as well as overseas plants in Shanghai and Berlin, helping it to produce some 1.37mln cars in 2022.
There has been much speculation and local jostling from politicians in the UK (Somerset, Luton and the North-East have been proposed), India, Korea and Indonesia.
In 2022 Musk said he would be looking at new gigafactory locations “towards the end of the year” and last week the company confirmed it would invest a further US$3.6bn in its Nevada factory, aiming to boost production of its car batteries and electric semi-trucks.
Expanding into Mexico would also place Tesla’s production within the same borders as one of the world’s largest lithium deposits, vital for EV batteries, in the north-west of the country at Sonora.
Trident Royalties PLC (AIM:TRR) is among companies with an interest in the Sonora lithium project, which could become a world-leading project in the extraction of lithium from clay-based soil.