Germany likely site, given current interests there.
American EV marque Tesla, despite still not being profitable, is proceeding with its plans to expand its manufacturing facilities to Europe, and is reportedly in talks with officials from both the Netherlands and Germany regarding the possibility of setting up a Gigafactory in either country. Nothing concrete has been agreed to with either nation it seems, though both countries carry some Tesla interests.
The carmaker’s European headquarters are in the Netherlands, a natural pick given the Dutch propensity to embrace zero-emissions anything. But Tesla’s purchase of German firm Grohmann Engineering back in late-2016 (as part of its efforts to accelerate production line automation) means that Germany is also in strong contention here, strengthened by Musk’s veiled comments in the past that he’d be looking to set up on the French-German border.
In fact, it was during the acquisition of Grohmann in 2016 that Musk first confirmed plans for a European Gigafactory. But the next Gigafactory to be set up will be a facility in Shanghai, which is already being discussed with local government authorities.
Presently, the facilities of Grohmann Automation (its new name following the Tesla acquisition) continue to spearhead developments in production automation, and wont’ be far from where Musk is proposing to build his European Gigafactory. The continued expansion of Tesla’s production facilities are in line with the company’s hopes that more facilities would permit the company to achieve greater economies of scale. Those hopes need to be realised if the company intends to roll out its Model 3 compact saloon and upcoming Model Y entry-level SUV as quickly as it would like to.
Tesla’s intention to grow its presence in Europe is also in line with the company’s plans to diversify its portfolio reports The Wall Street Journal, which it’ll do using Grohmann as its most solid starting block. The company serves clients in the consumer electronics, biotech, and telecommunications industries and maintains offices across the globe. Once Tesla’s automotive division is solid enough to left on autopilot, it’s likely that the company will seek to move into those industries with greater force. Assuming the autopilot doesn’t steer it into a figurative crash barrier, that is.
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