Tesla CEO and Billionaire Elon Musk met with French President Emmanuel Macron on May 15 as the American automaker elevates its global expansion efforts.
Tesla has been expanding its market presence internationally along with its spectacular manufacturing ramp-up. As previously reported, the Tesla boss also met with the South Korean President regarding South Korea’s potential for a Tesla Gigafactory.
With the recent meeting with President Macron, Tesla may soon expand its presence in France with its leading technologies.
What’s the meeting all about?
President Macron announced through his Twitter account that the meeting with CEO Elon Musk revolved around France’s potential for EV and energy-related investments, as well as digital regulation,
“With @ElonMusk, we talked about the attractiveness of France and the significant progress in the electric vehicle and energy sectors. We also talked about digital regulation. We have so much to do together. See you this afternoon at the #ChooseFrance Summit!”
President Emmanuel Macron
Tesla is indeed being careful in deciding its next production site, which might be any of the countries CEO Musk visited in the past few months.
The construction of Tesla’s first factory in Mexico is well underway. However, many analysts think that the automaker might enter new markets in Europe and Asia because of the necessity for greater manufacturing in those important regions.
Tesla to invest in France
Teslarati noted that Tesla continues to have a sizable market share in numerous significant countries, including France, the UK, Germany, and the EV leader, Norway.
Suppose Tesla were to open a new factory in France. In that case, it might play a significant role in sustaining this lead and assisting in reducing the dependency of global manufacturing on China.
Interestingly, Musk clarified that Tesla would make an investment in France at some point after the meeting. However, it is still unclear exactly what that investment would include.
However, it may not be a new production plant as Tesla would undoubtedly face intense competition if it decided to build a new facility in Europe.
For context, Germany has long been Europe’s automotive hub, despite France’s efforts to create a more business-friendly environment.
See Also:
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- Tesla CEO Elon Musk to visit China to meet with premier, per report
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Nonetheless, President Macron and CEO Musk will attend the “Choose France” Summit, highlighting France as the market of choice for expanding businesses in Europe. It will also announce new business investments totaling about 13 billion euros.