Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla is considering opening an assembly plant near the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) north of Mexico City, according to President López Obrador’s communications chief.
Jesús Ramírez told the Reuters news agency on Monday that the company could set up a plant at an industrial park currently being developed about three kilometers from AIFA, located about 50 kilometers north of central Mexico City in México state.
He said the plant would serve as an export hub for Tesla, whose CEO is Elon Musk, the world’s second richest person.
“Tesla is looking at investing in that area to take advantage of AIFA,” Ramírez said, adding that a plant there could operate as a base for Tesla to export via air.
Reuters said the presidential spokesman offered no further details about the company’s plans. Ramírez’s comments to the news agency came after he made similar remarks to the newspaper El Heraldo de México.
“Tesla will invest … [near AIFA] in an assembly plant, to export directly by air,” he told the Mexico City-based paper.
Ramírez told El Heraldo that the company was looking at investing in the T-MexPark, a major industrial park under construction near the new airport, which opened in March 2022.
Another federal official told Reuters that Tesla representatives had visited the site, but didn’t disclose the company’s plans.
Last October, Musk visited Nuevo León, where he met with Governor Samuel García and other state officials, sparking speculation that Tesla would invest in the northern border state. The newspaper Milenio reported in December that Tesla would announce a vehicle plant in Nuevo León in January, but no such announcement was made.
It was unclear whether Tesla was interested in opening plants both near AIFA and in Nuevo León. Reuters said that the company didn’t respond to its request for comment.
With reports from Reuters
