(Reuters) – France wants Elon Musk-led Tesla to build its next gigafactory in the country, CNBC reported on Wednesday, citing the country’s digital minister.
France has been courting Chinese EV giant BYD and Tesla to build factories in the country, officials had previously told Reuters.
“It will be great to have a Tesla factory in France. There has been a lot of effort and energy to make sure this is possible and this can happen,” Jean-Noel Barrot told CNBC.
“We have also invested in an … entire sector of electric batteries so we will try to convince (Elon Musk) that France is the best possible place in Europe to establish the next Tesla factory,” Barrot said.
Musk, who met French President Emmanuel Macron and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire last month, said he was confident Tesla would make “significant investments” in France in the future, but shied from providing a timeline.
“No announcement today but I am very impressed with President Macron and the French government and how welcoming they are,” Musk said in May.
France previously tried to convince Musk to build a European gigafactory in the country, but he chose Germany for his only such plant in Europe so far.
Earlier this year, Tesla’s cars became eligible for a consumer bonus of up to 5,000 euros ($5,416.00) in France, regardless of where the vehicle is made.
($1 = 0.9232 euros)
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
