Elon Musk said he would postpone building the factory? Mexico is in a hurry: it will increase investment.
Elon Musk knows PUA (Pick-Up Artist) techniques.
Wednesday's Tesla earnings conference call basically turned into a "complaint session" for Musk. He repeatedly emphasized the impact of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy on consumer spending and also mentioned the PTSD caused by the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler in 2009. Therefore, he stated that he would "wait and see" the macroeconomic trends before deciding whether to "go all out" to build a factory in Mexico.
Musk's statement has caused concern among the people of Mexico. On Thursday local time, the government of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, hurriedly clarified that Tesla's factory construction plan has not been abandoned, and the Mexican government will invest more than $130 million in infrastructure construction.
Tesla announced its plan to build a factory in northern Mexico in March of this year, but did not provide a construction timetable.
According to Musk's statement during Wednesday's conference call, the plan to build a factory in Mexico is certain, but due to global economic factors, the timing is uncertain and construction may not start until next year.
According to estimates by the local government, the total investment in Mexican automotive factories is over $5 billion. The Mexican government sees this as proof of the emerging trend of "nearshore outsourcing" (i.e., companies moving production from Asia to closer locations to the United States) and a key factor in revitalizing Mexican manufacturing.
The process of confirming Tesla's plans in Mexico has been full of challenges, and investors are closely watching the next steps of this automaker in Mexico.
Jesus Nava, the mayor of Santa Catarina in Nuevo Leon, said that local officials have begun to improve the infrastructure in the area where the Tesla factory is located.
In a statement, he said:
"At the state and municipal levels, we are advancing the infrastructure studies requested by Tesla, and the state government will provide funding of more than 2.5 billion pesos (approximately $136 million)."
He expressed hope that construction of the Tesla Gigafactory could begin in the first half of 2024.
One can only say that Musk understands PUA (pickup artist) tactics.
In the third quarter of this year, the underutilization of the new factory's production capacity, increased operating expenses related to the Cybertruck, and expenditures on artificial intelligence and other projects have all affected Tesla's profit margin. Musk stated during Wednesday's conference call that the company will continue to reduce production costs to improve profitability. It may be wise to postpone the construction of the expensive factory in Mexico.
However, the plan to build a factory in Mexico may only be delayed, not canceled. Previously, a large number of Tesla suppliers had already gone to Mexico to collaborate on factory construction.
Jay Truesdale, CEO of risk and business consulting firm Veracity Worldwide, stated that Tesla suppliers who are eager to expand in Mexico will continue to move forward.
"They are making a 30-year bet, not a 3-year bet."
During his visit to Shanghai on Wednesday, Governor Samuel Garcia of Nuevo Leon announced that Chinese Tesla suppliers are expected to provide nearly $1 billion in investment.