Tesla Invited to Build a Factory in a Decommissioned French Nuclear Plant

He's recently been proposed for a Nobel prize (Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences) and the Model 3 launch was a complete success, so you could say he's riding a higher horse than ever. Not that Musk was ever the type to be bothered with ponies, if you know what I mean.

During a visit to France earlier this year, Musk mentioned the need of expanding Tesla's production capacities in Europe as well. Acting graciously towards his hosts, he nominated the Alsace - the northeastern region of France bordering Germany and Switzerland - as a very good possible location for this hypothetical future plant.

It would seem some Alsatians were more than happy with the prospect of Tesla Motors investing in their region, so they even bothered to make a short clip called "Alsace is ready" that gets behind this idea. I'm not sure if Musk is aware of this, but as his fame starts to grow, he's going to have to be very careful with his statements. Imagine your favorite band said they were moving next door, but never showed up. What's more, two weeks later they even moved to China.

Well, it would appear the people of Alsace have the backing of a very prominent French political figure. Ségolène Royal, the country's Energy Minister and former presidential candidate, has already proposed a location to Tesla's CEO, and she said she'll be meeting with some of the company's executives later this month to discuss taking the matter forward.

Mrs. Royal says Musk is hesitating between France and Germany, so she tried to swing the odds in her country's favor. “I told him - I have a place for you - Fessenheim. He [Musk] didn’t say ‘no,’” she told French website LCP. “Who dares, wins. […] It would be wonderful since we are already announcing the closing of Fessenheim, and we'd build something else. We turn the page and look to the future. And electric cars are the industry of the future.”

Now more than ever, Musk is going to consider expanding Tesla's presence in Europe (it already has a plant in Tilburg, Holland, but it's only for the final assembly process - essentially a trick to avoid charging Europeans import taxes) after what happened with the Model 3 launch. He's already reportedly making a similar move in China, in the Suzhou region, with demand expected to grow significantly over there as well.