Since you ask…Chile has several points in it’s favor. Before those, it is a small market, but does not itself produce vehicles. The Banco Itaú economic report is succinct and relevant:
Chile also has a very high GINI coefficient of 44.9, partly explaining how there is a robust but small market for high-end consumer products.
Chile also has the world’s largest copper reserves:
Hmmm, does Tesla need copper?
Then there are other metals:
Mine production in Chile 2021, by metalMine production of selected metals in Chile in 2021 (in 1,000 metric tons)Iron11,200Copper5,588Molybdenum49.40Zinc27.90Silver1.38Lead0.40Gold0.03
source: US Geologic Survey extracted by Statistica
On top of those factors is the huge Santiago electric bus fleet mentioned here in the past, coupled with high receptivity for anything that reduces necessity for fossil fuel imports. That is closely related to a close commercial relationship between Brazilian business and Chilean business. (Perhaps the most famous example was the effective takeover of TAM airline in Brazil by the Chilean family owners of LAN. The two families had long been close, so the accidental death of TAM’s CEO led to a friendly takeover that produced LATAM.) Further, the auto industry of Brazil has increasingly close ties with that of Brazil, although the actual import data reflects a different story:
From an overall policy perspective Chile has huge foreign exchange demand for petroleum and autos, while exports are now dominated by copper and other mining products, with the odd Atacama foray for astronomy (high driest place on earth!).
The single most salient fact about Chile is this:
As the article presents, Chile has the world’s largest lithium deposits is the world’s driest places, very high and very, very difficult to access.
What company is most adept at solving insoluble (ok, couldn’t resist, insolvable) problems?
Overall, it seems to me that Chile is an excellent market for Tesla Energy and an excellent small market for automotive products, not to exclude the raw materials potential. Don’t forget that the Chilean Human Resources are exceedingly familiar with the rest of Mercosur and know just how to navigate in Brasilia, often, I’ m observing, more adeptly than are most Brazilians. [that last sentence requires a book-length explanation, but Elon’s cousin, and/or others nearby, probably has already explained all that].
Were I a Tesla influencer I would have recommended the course they’re on. Once they’re established in Chile, Brazil is easier and when Argentina begins to recover, as eventually it will, Tesla will be ready.
In sum, Chile is easy to enter and provides entry to the Southern Cone/ Mercosur
www.teslarati.com
but…
