Musk Says Germany is ‘Leading Choice’ for European Factory

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said earlier this month that the company hopes to make an announcement this year about a new factory in Europe. He said this week on Twitter that Germany is currently the “leading choice” for the European factory.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1009014824280342529

Musk has said the company has plans for several new factories around the world. The first outside of the U.S. is expected to be located in Shanghai. Musk said at Tesla’s recent shareholder meeting that an announcement about that facility could come next month.

He also said that going forward, all Gigafactories will be combined for battery, vehicle, and powertrain production.

Tesla currently has a facility in the Netherlands that provides final assembly for vehicles to be delivered to European customers.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1009164260151185408

Even if the company builds a factory in Germany, the European headquarters will remain in the Netherlands, Musk said.

 

[strangethingintheland]

the OP wrote 'He said this week on Twitter that Germany is currently the “leading choice” for the European factory.'

But that is not what he said. Rather, he said it was "a leading choice," and there is a world of difference. A leading choice is a politically astute statement, as it suggests there could be *other* leading choices as well. And to talk about something being potentially on the Germany/France border, and near Benelux (three other countries) further spreads the possibilities.

 

[SageBrush]

Even if Germany was the leading choice, we would not know how wide the lead is.

 

[Nigel Quinton]

Wherever it might end up, it is clear that UK is not an option.

 

[Lasttoy]

I lived in Germany for 10 yrs. Elon had better negotiate with unions before makes that decision. Europe unions make the UAW look like pussy cats. Being next to a rail hub is important for parts shiiping.

 

[SageBrush]

I guessed a while ago that Germany would be a logical choice for a Gigafactory but Elon's announcement strikes me as a not very subtle message to the German manufacturers that Tesla has them in their sights.