Tesla looks to expand its operations to South America with an initial focus on the lithium-rich country, Chile. According to Reuters, the Musk-led automaker’s business name registration with the Chilean Government was officially released on September 28.
Interestingly, Tesla’s stated objectives were as follows: “the import, export, manufacturing, marketing, distribution, and sale of vehicles, especially electric vehicles.”
Progress
Apart from the business registration, Tesla has also recently released multiple new job positions based in Santiago and its Metropolitan Region. Some of these include a Country General Manager, a Tesla Sales Advisor, and Service Technicians.
As for the General Manager, Tesla indicated in the LinkedIn job advertisement that the successful candidate “will play a fundamental role in shaping our corporate image while accelerating the transition to sustainable energy.”
The report also asserted the registration of Tesla’s energy business, including energy generation and storage of electricity.
Potential Gigafactory investment
Teslarati reported Tesla Chief Elon Musk’s previous remarks about the possibility of a new Gigafactory location announcement by the end of the year.
“We will probably pick another location towards the end of this year.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated in May 2023
Tesla already operates four Gigafactories, with two located in the Eastern Hemisphere and two in the Western Hemisphere. Therefore, expanding its production to South America would be strategic to boost its global presence further.
However, it must also be noted that Tesla is also speculated to partner with France, India, Indonesia, Canada, and South Korea. As EV-a2z previously reported, the Tesla boss has been meeting with many government officials so far this year.
Chile’s potential
Tesla’s interest in the Chilean market is unsurprising, considering that the country holds the largest lithium reserves in the world.
In early 2023, the Chilean Government disclosed plans to take state control of the lithium supply nationwide.
In effect, the country attracted significant interest from major electric vehicle players, including Chinese giant BYD. It previously declared plans to establish a $290 million battery parts factory in the country to support its EV production ramp-up. According to BNN Bloomberg, BYD secured access to “preferential prices for lithium mined by SQM.”
Tesla Chile’s registration indicated that its headquarters is in Santiago. Nonetheless, it is still open for “branches or agencies that may be established in other cities in the country or abroad.” It would signify the American EV giant’s first-ever commercial operation in the South American region.
It would indeed be interesting to see Tesla building domestic electric vehicle production in the country, which can significantly lower battery costs due to the abundant supply of the critical mineral lithium.
