The million-dollar investment that would mean the arrival of Tesla in Mexico is about to become a reality, as President Andrés Manuel López Obrador stated during Tuesday’s press conference at the National Palace. The head of the Executive Branch confirmed that after his call with businessman Elon Musk, the electric car assembly plant, an understanding was reached that allowed the plant to come to Monterrey.
He highlighted that he agreed with the businessman to carry out several actions to guarantee the arrival of water resources in the area and that the CEO of Twitter committed to carrying out efforts to help in this task. Several specialists say this capital injection corresponds to some 10 billion dollars that would reach the country.
“Some commitments are going to be announced,” he said.
AMLO thanked Elon Musk for his sensitivity
The President said that the businessman was receptive and accepted the proposals made by the Mexican government, which will be announced tomorrow. He acknowledged Musk for being open to the lack of liquid. He added that the billionaire understood the need to use recycled water for the plant’s processes.
López Obrador pointed out that Monterrey had a population growth of 2.3 percent per year, double the average in other regions of the nation, which has caused a deficit in water for human consumption. He recalled that several actions are being carried out to solve these problems to guarantee supply.
Obrador assured that the businessman was also understanding when he received the information that the country could not give the same subsidies for creating semiconductors as the United States.
“He understood it perfectly, and we talked that without those subsidies, Mexico’s comparative advantages are unique in the world, and we agree that Mexico’s main resource is the quality of its workers,” he said.
He indicated that the company would be asked to pay adequate salaries, comply with job liquidation, and take care of the natural resources.
He was about to leave Nuevo León
Last Monday, the President ended his presentation to the press a few minutes earlier to be able to communicate with the CEO of the company. In previous days, he had already told him that he would talk to him about the benefits that other areas of the country had before the impossibility of Nuevo Leon providing the necessary water for this development.
Although Governor Samuel Garcia was the first to receive Musk in the state, President Lopez Obrador assured that he would not allow this construction in the state’s territory because it was necessary to guarantee that the people had the necessary water resources before providing them to the companies.
After the announcement by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Governor Samuel García acknowledged the investment made for the state. In addition, the entity’s leader was expected to participate in the morning conference to explain what would follow in the plan.
What states raised their hands?
In response to the president’s declaration to not allow Tesla to operate in Nuevo Leon, the governments of several states asked to be considered to receive the assembly plant. However, Obrador recently said that the areas with the greatest potential for this would be the Mexican southeast or Hidalgo, near the Felipe Angeles International Airport. The following states were interested, but in the end, they will not be able to receive this investment.
Without giving figures, the President stated that the plant would bring thousands of jobs and investment to this area of the country. “I am satisfied with what was achieved because it means more investment for Mexico and more jobs, and this also leads to an increase in workers’ salaries because the more demand for jobs there is the more workers’ salaries increase,” he said.
With information from Elia Castillo and Misael Zavala