Tesla and its suppliers are planning to invest $15bn over the next two years in its Mexican gigafactory, the Reuters news agency reports.
The figure was given by Samuel Garcia, the governor of Nuevo Leon state, where the factory is to be built.
Garcia said: “Just Tesla and its suppliers will generate an investment of $15bn in two years.” He added that this would require the state to spend more on highways and other supporting infrastructure.
Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, announced the factory in March. He did not put a price on it, but Jesus Nava, the mayor of the Nuevo Leon city of Santa Catarina, said at the time that the cost would be $5bn, investment rising to $10m over time (see further reading).
Nava said the factory site would cover nearly 17 sq km. This is more than double the size of Tesla’s factory in Austin, Texas.
Tesla is following in the tyre-tracks of automakers BMW, General Motors and Ford, which have all announced plans to begin or step up EV production in Mexico.
