Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Tuesday that the electric vehicle manufacturer’s planned “gigafactory” project in Nuevo León is currently “paused” because of the possibility that Donald Trump will impose tariffs on vehicles made in Mexico if he wins the Nov. 5 presidential election in the United States.
During Tesla’s Q2 earnings call, Musk was asked for an “updated timeline for Giga Mexico,” which the company first announced in March 2023.
“We currently are paused on Giga Mexico. I think we need to see where things stand after the election. Trump has said he’ll put heavy tariffs on vehicles produced in Mexico,” he said.
“So it doesn’t make sense to invest a lot in Mexico if that is going to be the case. So we kind of need to see the way things play out politically. But we are increasing capacity at our existing factories quite significantly,” said Musk, who endorsed Trump after the assassination attempt on the former U.S president earlier this month.
Trump has threatened to impose 100% tariffs on cars manufactured in Mexico by Chinese companies, but he hasn’t publicly announced any plan that would adversely affect vehicles made here by Tesla, a U.S. company based in Austin, Texas. United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai indicated in May that U.S. authorities could impose protective measures targeting vehicles and other products made in Mexico by Chinese companies.
As things stand, vehicles made in Mexico can be exported tariff-free to the United States provided they meet regional content rules.
Musk said last October that Tesla was preparing to build a new factory in Nuevo León, but indicated that he was hesitant to “go full tilt” on the project due to prevailing global economic conditions and uncertainty. In May, Nuevo León Nuevo León Economy Minister Iván Rivas insisted that Tesla was still planning to build its highly-anticipated gigafactory in the municipality of Santa Catarina near Monterrey, despite the project being slow to start.
If the Mexico gigafactory doesn’t materialize, it will be a major blow for Nuevo León and the state government led by Governor Samuel García, who has been an outspoken champion of the project. His government agreed to provide a range of investments to facilitate the establishment of the plant.
According to the federal Economy Ministry, construction of the proposed gigafactory would involve an investment of more than US $10 billion. García said last September that Tesla and its suppliers would invest $15 billion in the state.
In February, Bloomberg reported that Musk had “invited Chinese suppliers to Mexico to replicate the local supply chain at Tesla’s Shanghai plant.”
The news agency said that “Chinese auto-parts makers are rapidly setting up plants” on the outskirts of Monterrey to supply the Tesla gigafactory.
BYD, a Chinese EV company and major competitor of Tesla, has also announced plans to build a plant in Mexico, but it hasn’t revealed a location or how much it intends to invest in it.
Mexico News Daily
I don’t know if this is a case of Musk selling his soul in hopes of Trump not traffing Mexican Teslas or “Be careful what you wish for”.
Raises the question of why he’s donating 45 million dollars 💸 a month to tRump 🤔 🙄 🤣 Seems kinda contrary to his company’s well being!
Lol, right? tRump is bad for most businesses, all of his nationalist ideas (or rather ideas someone feeds him) will spell disaster for the US. The sad part is Mexico will literally be dragged down right along with them.
exactly but dyslexia runs rampant in that small brain . Hope for a real leader.
2 racist nazis in trump and musk, what do you think could happen. teslas future sinking already just like sales and the stock price. They are both grifters and liars and of no morality what’s so ever. Be glad you are not in bed with these 2 prostitutes. trump will lose miserably in 4 short months and we can all be relieved that scourge is gone. Kamala is destroying trump and musks bribe of $45 million per month with it. These 2 are dangerous Trash.
Seems to be a lot of pent up anger there buddy. Stick to the article and your blood pressure will thank you.
Yeah I totally agree your blood pressure will definitely thank you. I think Trump’s going to win anyways.
Well said.
Trump is a criminal who’s running to stay out of prison, it won’t work. Musk is a big supporter of his who has donated to give him more than in the past. Musk’s reasoning doesn’t make sense. Tesla sales are down so….
All you guys that talk about Trump as being a criminal, forget that Joe Biden lied to Congress under “oath” many times and because and should have been “impeached”, But because the Democrats were in control of the Senate, Joe Biden , “dogged the bullet” and wasn’t “impeached’. Joe has given millions of our “tax money” to Iran. Stupid Joe withdrew our troops and left “billions of dollars of military equipment in Afghanistan. Joe has so much “hate” in his heart, that when he dies, he is going “straight to HELL.
The American people are “sick and tired” of listening to all his “lies “and now it’s time to “kick” all the Democrats ( all yellow belly”traitors”) who have ruined our country, out of Office.
Trump will win and all the Democrats “cronies” will go down in “flames”. Mark my word. God is in our side.
You forget that Trump is the one who negotiated with the Taliban to remove U.S. troops. Biden delayed it as long as he could.
I am a little confused. Why would Musk be such a big supporter of Trump if Trump’s proposals would hurt his bottom line. Probably something going on under the surface that Musk is not disclosing.
Seems hard to reconcile Musk endorsing Trump if his business will be severely impacted with a Trump presidency.
Picking a favorite politician is like picking a favorite venereal disease. Either way you’re getting F’kd and living with your poor decisions. Musk is full of 🐃💩. Trump’s comment was directed at Chinese cars manufactured in MX. Musk can’t compete and if he caters to Trump, Trump will stack the deck. Tesla sales & stock are headed the wrong direction and borrowing at current rates, even for Musk, are unfavorable. When he thought he could screw Mexican workers and pollute Mexico’s environment to make bigger profits while escaping the UAW he made big statements. Accept him for what he is, a modern day snake oil salesman. A pretty good one, but a conman just the same. All current major auto, farm implement, and construction vehicle manufacturers are shifting production to Mx. Trump won’t be able to place huge tariffs on all those American companies. This is the rich man’s way of trying to make a statement. If he had the investment money, he would be breaking ground. Ever notice, both Musk & Trump are always saying something… the more 🦇💩 crazy, the more views and clicks. They are using and manipulating you… and look! It worked again, he got all of you riled up. If you would give up on American politics you would be so much happier. Unless you live in one of the few states that have an effect on the election, your vote doesn’t really matter. Thanks to the electoral college, they’ve made a science out of having 5-6 states decide elections. They’re making a fortune selling you merchandise so that you feel like part of a Team. The reality is they laugh at how easy it is to control the ignorant. I’m in Mx to avoid the shit show that is America today. Please try and keep it off this site. That’s from a proud American vet, from a generational veteran family, who are farmers & old school conservatives. America is so much better than where she is at today. Both sides screwed the system up. But you just go ahead and keep choosing between syphilis and herpes. Just keep it away from me.