Leading American electric automaker Tesla is reportedly in talks with the Italian government about a potential investment in a new electric vehicle factory, Reuters reports, citing the industry minister’s remarks on Wednesday.
Italy courts Tesla
The Italian government is currently courting Tesla, along with other major players like BYD, to invest in the country’s electric vehicle industry.
According to Minister for Business and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso, the government has been trying to entice Tesla to invest in a potential local production hub.
“We have had talks with producers from several countries, not just eastern ones, but western ones too. […] A German city rejected rejected a plan for the large-scale expansion of Tesla’s European assembly plant. This will certainty lead to a decision by the group.”
Adolfo Urso, Minister for Business and Made in Italy (translated from Italian via Ansa)
Would Tesla actually invest in a new Italian factory?
Although Grünheide residents indeed opposed Tesla’s planned Giga Berlin expansion in the community vote, the results are not binding.
Therefore, the final decision remains in the hands of the local officials. Nonetheless, the community vote results will be an important basis for their approval.
The Italian government believes that this hindrance in Tesla’s expansion strategy will prompt it to consider an investment in Italy to support its production ramp-up efforts.
Minister Urso further noted that Italy has been negotiating with Tesla “for months” already, with a “very positive” response from the Musk-led company.
Italy’s EV targets
Italy seeks to expand its electric vehicle industry by attracting automakers across the world, particularly from China.
The Italian government aims to hit an annual production target of 1.3 million vehicles. As of today, Stellantis, a laggard in electric vehicle adoption, dominates the local auto industry. It produced about 750,000 units in Italy in 2023 alone, including 520,000 passenger cars and 230,000 vans.
“We are aware that it is impossible for Stellantis alone to reach the target of one million cars produced in Italy.”
Adolfo Urso, Minister for Business and Made in Italy
Therefore, it would be really crucial for the Italian government to add new automakers to aid its targets, considering that it would be challenging for Stellantis to do it all alone.
All that said, it would be better for people to take these “talks” with a grain of salt. Governments across the world tend to entice Tesla for gigafactories, which often do not materialize. Apart from Italy, India is among the strongest candidates to secure Tesla’s major investment.
