Tesla has got its bases covered in the United States and now China, but now it has its sights set on bringing a 4th Gigafactory to the European market.
After the recent agreement to build the third Gigafactory in Shanghai that will be operational in 2 years, Tesla continues on and is reportedly in talks to bring a Gigafactory to the European market.
Tesla does have a factory in the Netherlands, but it acts as a final assembly point for the Model S/X and doesn’t actually build any of the components or cars. According to the WSJ:
[Tesla] has had preliminary discussions with two German states vying to host a so-called Gigafactory in Europe to build electric cars and their batteries under one roof, officials involved in the talks said.
The talks are still in their early stages, and might not yield an agreement, the officials said. Tesla has also discussed an option to build the plant in the Netherlands, said a Dutch government official, who declined to say if that option is still being pursued.
Germany is an area that makes sense as Elon Musk has stated before that it is a leading choice for Europe
Germany is a leading choice for Europe. Perhaps on the German-French border makes sense, near the Benelux countries
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 19, 2018
This is definitely a move that would make sense for Tesla. It has the US and Chinese market covered with their existing/upcoming Gigafactories. The European market is the last big market that Tesla needs easy accessibility to. The other big companies like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, and VW are gearing up to release their electrics and Tesla should take advantage of the time as much as possible.
Hopefully if/when this factory is built it can help with: 1)The demand for the cars, and 2) The part shortages and long service times like we see in Norway.
This is just one report and their hasn’t been official, so we have no idea at the time table of this factory. Ideally Tesla would want it done around the release of the Model Y or a little after to help with projected demand of the car.
What do you guys think? Will Germany be the site of the next Gigafactory? By what time do you think it will happen? Let us know down in the comments.
Source: Wall Street Journal
