According to the Wall Street Journal, the information is based on anonymous sources: “Tesla has been in 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.”
And while the talks are in the early stages, nothing could come of them. And according to a Dutch government official, Tesla has also talked about the option of building the plant in the Netherlands, but the official declined to say if the option is still being considered.
Teslarati reports that Ralph Schleimer, a state official from Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, noted in a prepared statement on Monday that the state is doing what it can to assure Tesla that it is a viable location for the planned facility. Schleimer added that the state had already presented its proposals to Tesla, but any detailed negotiations have not begun yet.
“We have done everything possible to assure that Rhineland Palatinate is in the competition for the plant,” he said.
Germany is high on the list
To look at the broader picture, Tesla’s European Headquarters are already in the Netherlands, including a final assembly facility in Tilburg. And as recently as June 19, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that he favors Germany as the location for its first European Gigafactory.
“Perhaps on the German-French border makes sense, near the Benelux countries,” Musk had said here on Twitter, responding to a public tweet.
And it must be said that it does make sense to locate the European Gigafactory in Rhineland Palatinate – if only because the state is already the headquarters of Tesla Grohmann Automation, a company that manufactures robots used by the company in the manufacture of its electric cars.
Another German state, Saarland, has also expressed interest in welcoming the Tesla Gigafactory. Saarland Economic Minister, Anke Rehlinger said they have approached Tesla about the possibility of building the massive facility in the state. They also met with Tesla in early July.
“They are looking at us to see if we fit their needs, (but) formal negotiations haven’t begun,” Rehlinger said. Earlier this month, Tesla formally announced it would be constructing Gigafactory #3 in Shanghai., China. When completed, the China factory is expected to produce 500,000 electric vehicles per year.
While the news of the fourth Tesla Gigafactory may be firming up, there is still a cloud hanging over the electric car company, primarily because of this year’s poor earnings statements. To be sure, Tesla will have to raise some capital for all its coming projects.
Shares of the Palo Alto, California-based company fell 2 percent at $291.43 on Monday in morning trading. However, as of 2:50 p.m. on Tuesday, they had rebounded at $296.89, according to NASDAQ.
