Tesla reveals it is lobbying to set up factory in Canada

Tesla Inc has today revealed that it’s lobbying the Ontario government in a bid to step up its plan of creating an advanced manufacturing facility in Canada. The filling was made at the Office of the Integrity Commissioner in Ontario.

The filling from today conveyed that the company’s Canadian unit was collaborating with the government to explore possibilities for industrial facilities permitting amendments.

In June, Chief Executive Officer, Elon Musk said Tesla is looking at sites in North America, and that it might not be in the United States.

Musk also earlier hinted about the proposed location of the next gigafactory, while speaking at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting.

Amidst chants of Canada from shareholders, Musk replied jokingly: “We’ve got a lot of Canadas, I’m half Canadian, maybe I should.”

He also gave the assurance that the company might be able to announce a new factory later this year and it could ultimately have 10-12 gigafactories.

What you should know

• Tesla manufactures vehicles from two factories in the United States and one each in Germany and China.
• Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry said earlier in May that Canada is talking to several companies interested in setting up production in the electric vehicle supply chain.
• Champagne further elaborated that the government is seeking to cut carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 and play a role in the shift toward greener cars.
• The minister did not name the companies, he only said he spoke to representatives of Volkswagen last week and has recently talked to executives from companies in the United States, Japan and Korea.
• Canada has invested in EV projects through a multi-billion dollar fund set up in 2020, and they’ve also pledged about $3 billion over the last eight years to help boost the production and processing of critical minerals used for the manufacturing of Electric Vehicles.