Governor Sepúlveda announced that construction may take longer than expected thanks to Tesla’s new line of cheaper compact electric vehicles.
April 17, 2023 at 11:15 a.m. ET
Tesla’s next electric car factory will be located in Mexico unless the company decides to start somewhere else soon. The factory near Monterrey is expected to go up in record time, although a recent announcement makes clear it may take longer than some initial speculation suggested.
Tesla has already shared that it plans to build electric vehicles in Mexico on a new, smaller platform that will significantly reduce costs and result in lower prices. The goal is very similar to Tesla’s recent price cuts, to make electric cars affordable for the masses.
After reading and sharing reports about Tesla’s possible plans to build the Mexico-based electric vehicle plant in record time, it looks like it may take a lot longer than the company’s Giga Shanghai. Tesla built the China factory in just nine months, which is much faster than its factories in Germany and Texas, and much faster than most factories around the world.
According to a recent report by Teslarati, Gov. Samuel García Sepúlveda admitted that it is likely to take at least a year longer to prepare the plant in Mexico than in China. However, that’s because Tesla’s next factory will be the first to produce electric vehicles on an all-new platform. Sepúlveda explained:
“In the beginning, it was talked about [Tesla] wanted to break the nine-month Shanghai record, but with the meetings we’ve been having, the model they want to bring out, which is the economy model that will be sold massively, will require a completely new production line. .”
The Mexican government official went on to explain that Tesla’s new production line is in a sort of workshop mode so the company can gather renderings and make plans for the factory. He estimates it could take 12 to 15 months to finish everything with the new production line thanks to the large amount of factory space it will consume.
That said, space is not a concern for Giga Mexico. Giga Texas is currently Tesla’s largest Gigafactory and its headquarters. The building and property in Texas is absolutely massive, and the next factory in Mexico will be even bigger.
Sepúlveda also shared that everything else related to Tesla’s future factory has been moving very quickly, so there are no obstacles in that regard. The city has reportedly taken care of the necessary water, electricity and gas requirements for the factory. He said Mexico is ready and will just wait for Tesla’s final rendering to begin as soon as the company gives the green light.
