Tesla announcement in Mexico expected soon; even without closing: Ebrard
(Bloomberg) — Tesla Inc. announce very soon an investment in Mexico, as the country works to expand the infrastructure and the supply of renewable energy to take advantage of the boom in the relocation of companies, says the secretary of Foreign Relations, Marcelo Ebrard.
The Mexican government has been working with the automotriz led by the multimillionaire Elon Musk to help it find a place in the country where it can establish a plant, and the company has already seen several places, says Ebrard, declining to give details of the project.
“What you would think is that we are very close to having this announcement by Tesla, but I don’t have an exact close yet”, he said during an interview on board a plane of the Fuerza Aérea Mexicana that would take him to Puerto Peñasco, in the northwestern state of Sonora. “They are going to make their announcement. We cannot announce it”.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
Ebrard, one of the main candidates of the ruling party, Morena, facing the 2024 elections, is on the way to visit the project of a solar plant in Puerto Peñasco, part of the much praised government project Plan Sonora, which foresees the construction of a expands renewable energy infrastructure to help meet ambitious climate goals and promote investment.
In November, during the UN climate change convention together with the special presidential envoy of the United States, John Kerry, Mexico committed itself to reducing carbon emissions by 35% by 2030. Ebrard reiterated that to achieve this goal, the country will need US$48,000 million in renewable investments and is working around the USA. to obtain the necessary funds to achieve it.
The canciller also said that the plant, which belongs to the state-owned CFE, is among the six that will help Mexico generate 80 gigabytes of clean energy by the end of the decade. The plan will largely depend on demand from the country’s automotive and aeronautical industries and clean energy companies in California, he says.
Mexico, particularly its northern states, is a favorite destination for companies looking to relocate their operations from China to more of the US, a process known as nearshoring. Around 400 companies are queuing to enter the Mexican market and 25 industrial parks are being developed, Ebrard indicated, dismissing concerns about trade disputes with the USA. and Canada could delay the relocation process.
“I didn’t see that we had a brake on inversion, I did not. The concern we have is how to guarantee the services they need in such a short time”, he said during the interview, and added that the country could grow by more than 4.3% annually “if we sustain the pace for the next three years”.
The lack of electricity supply, in particular of renewable sources, is one of the main constraints that Mexico is trying to solve to promote nearshoring.
Original Note: Tesla Expected to Announce Mexico Investment Soon, Ebrard Says
–With the collaboration of Nacha Cattan and Dana Hull.
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