Mexico City, Mexico — After weeks of speculation, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has confirmed a Tesla plant in Mexico. On Tuesday in a statement, López Obrador announced that the plant will be built in the city of Monterrey, Nuevo León .
In his press release, López Obrador said that an agreement was made that the company would be granted the permits to build a plant as long as they guaranteed a regional supply of water for domestic use.
A lack of water in the state has been an ongoing concern due to the increased growth of manufacturing in the state. On Tuesday, the Government of Mexico agreed to grant the permits as long as the plant does not exacerbate the state’s water supply.
“Things went well. We talked yesterday with Mr. Elon Musk, the director of Tesla, and there is an understanding that they are going to dedicate the investment to Mexico and the plant is going to be established in Monterrey with a series of commitments to face the problem of water scarcity. (…) We understood each other well and the agreement for the benefit of Mexico was good,” he said.
“I want to thank Mr. Elon Musk who was very respectful, attentive and understood the importance of addressing the problem of water scarcity,” he emphasized.
According to López Obrador, the Monday phone conversation was their second in less than a week. On February 24, Musk and López Obrador had their first conversation about the possibility of building an electric Tesla car manufacturing plant in Mexico.
Tesla’s arrival in Mexico, he said, is good news because it means more investment and jobs which leads to higher wages. A detailed announcement will be made by the directors of the company.
