In view of the construction of the gigafactory, the company’s path on Mexican soil has been winding
For Samuel García, governor of Nuevo León, Elon Musk has given his trust by choosing the entity as the operations center for his next Tesla factory.
However, in the face of the construction of the gigafactory, the company’s path on Mexican soil has been winding due to operational difficulties.
Why Nuevo León?
For David Domínguez Morales, founder of Grupo Kayim, the triple helix business model has been key to boosting investment in industrial projects in the region. This model is based on the collaboration of the business sectors, the government and academia; in particular universities and institutes with extensive development and research in technologies.
A key factor in industrial development in the north of the Mexican Republic is the relocation business model, also known by its English term, as nearshoring. The executive director of Santander, Rodolfo Sada, reported that Mexico is once again in the position of the main supplier in North America and investment has increased to meet American demands.
For its part, the Baker Institute added that the country’s automotive industry is attractive due to the performance of factories in the border region with the United States. In this regard, it should be noted that at the end of 2023, Mexico was positioned among the most important automotive hubs in the world.
The winding road to Tesla’s construction in Mexico
During Samuel García’s term as governor between 2023 and 2024, the Tesla factory in Nuevo León has been the subject of controversy due to the winding road to its construction. Thus, a key episode was the accusations of demagoguery and lies against it by Lilly Téllez, who assured on November 28, 2023, the Tesla project is false, especially due to Elon Musk’s lack of investment commitment.
After the opinion regarding the possible premature termination of Tesla’s plans in Nuevo León during the second half of 2023, García assured:
“Everything is going according to plan.” Likewise, Tesla’s CFO, Vaibhav Taneja, revealed that the company is looking to lay the groundwork for the construction of the factory despite global interest rates.
However, according to Elon Musk’s biography, the businessman considers it important to have designers and engineers close to the assembly line. Along these lines, Walter Isaacson’s book revealed that in May 2023, Musk decided to change the location of the assembly of Tesla robotaxis from Mexico to Austin, Texas.
Due to difficulties in Tesla’s job market, the promise of the factory (gigafactory) in Nuevo León is in the spotlight again in May and June 2024.
According to the state’s economic secretary, Iván Rivas, 20 Tesla positions in the state are frozen, due to structural changes in the company. The spokesman assured that this is not a definitive indicator of the premature end of operations, but it adds one more obstacle to the winding road of its construction.
Source: informador
