8:57 am, May 24, 2023
Tesla boss Elon Musk says the firm will ‘strongly consider’ the UK when it comes to deciding where to build its next gigafactories.
The EV manufacturer opened its first European battery plant in Berlin last year and is set to make a decision on future locations later this year.
Speaking via video link at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council in London yesterday, the billionaire said that England could be in the mix.
‘We are not currently looking at new locations, but we will probably towards the end of this year,’ he said.
The Times reports that, when asked about the chances of Tesla establishing a site in the UK, Musk said he would ‘strongly consider England’ as a potential location.
The firm previously considered building a research and development facility in Britain in 2014 but later decided against the plans.
In 2020, when the Berlin battery plant was delayed by environmental concerns, political leaders in the North of England wrote to Musk and asked that the project be relocated to Hartlepool instead.
Although those pleas fell on deaf ears, Musk’s latest comments look sure to encourage the government, amid fears the UK had ‘missed the boat’ when it came to to building gigafactories.
On Monday (May 22), Car Dealer reported that Tata Motors is also close to agreeing funding deal for a new Somerset gigafactory, which will supply JLR.
Although no decision has been agreed, it is hoped an announcement on that deal could come as early as this week
The Indian outfit had been asking for financial assistance to the tune of £500m to build the new plant in Bridgewater.
According to the FT, the UK has offered a one-off grant from the £1bn automotive transformation fund as well as another to improve road access to the proposed site, which is a stones’ throw from the M5.
