Photo: Tesla
Building on the Berlin Gigafactory, Tesla’s first European plant, hasn’t even started yet, but the electric vehicle maker could already be considering another expansion. This time, with a UK plant.
Reports that Tesla might be considering (again) the UK for a possible expansion started making the rounds earlier this month, when a trade publication noted that it was looking to buy land for a new factory. The same media outlet said that DIT (the Department for International Trade) had already been involved and even got confirmation from an official that it was “working closely with partners to scope out sites for new investment into electric vehicle research, development, and manufacturing across the UK.”
The confirmation didn’t single out Tesla, but the publication insisted it was involved. It could not say what the future facility would focus on, whether batteries and research, or an actual factory to build cars for the European market.
Whatever the end goal is, one thing is certain: Tesla is definitely building something in the UK. Before settling for Berlin, Germany, as the location of the first European Gigafactory, Musk made no secret that he had considered the UK but eventually chose not to build it here because of what Brexit would entail in terms of new regulations.
His concerns seem to have been erased, presumably by a very generous incentive from the government, eager to restart the country’s economy. He flew in the UK last weekend and spent about 19 hours on the ground – or rather, in the air, surveilling a 650-acre location near Bristol.
“It is believed that Mr Musk’s private jet landed at Luton just after midday on Wednesday and took of on Thursday morning from the same airport, spending only 19 hours on the ground,” The Times writes. “A law forcing all foreign travelers to enter quarantine for two weeks on arrival into Britain does not come into force until Monday. It is probable that Mr Musk would have used a helicopter to tour the Gravity site rather than drive or walk around the area.”
Gravity is a smart campus that Tesla is looking to take over. This still isn't enough to tell whether it’ll be a research center or an actual factory to build cars, but at the very least it brings confirmation of certain expansion plans.
The confirmation didn’t single out Tesla, but the publication insisted it was involved. It could not say what the future facility would focus on, whether batteries and research, or an actual factory to build cars for the European market.
Whatever the end goal is, one thing is certain: Tesla is definitely building something in the UK. Before settling for Berlin, Germany, as the location of the first European Gigafactory, Musk made no secret that he had considered the UK but eventually chose not to build it here because of what Brexit would entail in terms of new regulations.
His concerns seem to have been erased, presumably by a very generous incentive from the government, eager to restart the country’s economy. He flew in the UK last weekend and spent about 19 hours on the ground – or rather, in the air, surveilling a 650-acre location near Bristol.
“It is believed that Mr Musk’s private jet landed at Luton just after midday on Wednesday and took of on Thursday morning from the same airport, spending only 19 hours on the ground,” The Times writes. “A law forcing all foreign travelers to enter quarantine for two weeks on arrival into Britain does not come into force until Monday. It is probable that Mr Musk would have used a helicopter to tour the Gravity site rather than drive or walk around the area.”
Gravity is a smart campus that Tesla is looking to take over. This still isn't enough to tell whether it’ll be a research center or an actual factory to build cars, but at the very least it brings confirmation of certain expansion plans.
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