Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) boss Elon Musk has told analysts that he will be looking at new Gigafactory locations “towards the end of the year”, reigniting hopes that the electric carmaker could be coming to the UK.
Over the past two years, Musk made a number of trips to Britain on his private jet, reported to be scouting for potential locations in the south-west of England.
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the government is “considering and looking” at a site in south-west England, saying he believes Somerset "has the manufacturing skill and competence to be able to sustain an excellent gigafactory".
Two government departments were reported by newspapers as having approached regional authorities and local enterprise partnerships in various parts of the country about locations for a potential factory for an unnamed company.
Musk had publicly said he was seriously considering a site in the north-east, but played down the possibility due to "Brexit uncertainty" at the time.
As Tesla looks to expand with another overseas factory to add to the new sites in Texas and Berlin, the UK will face plenty of competition, including from India, where the transport minister has expressed it willingness to offer strong incentives to ensure low production costs are even lower than its factory in China.
Landed in London, England, GB. pic.twitter.com/2vdxQ1v5zF
— Elon Musk's Jet (@ElonJet) May 14, 2021