Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne visits Tesla Fermont on Friday. Initially, these were only rumors that the minister is going to meet Tesla. The news comes after Champagne met Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis at Detroit Auto Show.
As Champagne confirmed hit meet with senior managers in the Tesla Fermont factory. The video was also released. In the video, the Minister says “we are here visiting their manufacturing facility, but also meeting with the senior management to talk about [the] battery electric vehicle obviously, the Canadian ecosystem, and how can we in Canada make an economy that works for everyone.”
En Californie auj pour rencontrer @Tesla afin de voir comment nous pouvons innover plus et faire plus ensemble!
In California today to meet with @Tesla to explore how we can innovate more and do more together! pic.twitter.com/sQ1ffxYC6a
— François-Philippe Champagne (FPC) 🇨🇦 (@FP_Champagne) September 16, 2022
This is not the first meeting between Tesla and the Canadian government. The two have met at least four times over the last six months, not including a visit by Champagne to Tesla’s facility in Markham, Ontario last month. That facility builds some of the battery production equipment that will go into Giga Texas and Giga Berlin to support 4680 cell production.
All of these meetings are pointing towards a further expansion into Canada by Tesla. It all started earlier this summer when Elon Musk revealed in an internal company-wide meeting that Tesla was looking at sites in Canada and Mexico for its next North American factory.
Factory in Canada
Champagne, who has been actively courting investments from automakers on journeys to Germany and Japan this yr, adopted up the cease in Detroit with a tour of Tesla’s meeting plant in Fremont, Calif.
All three automakers have already dedicated to constructing electrical autos in Canada, whereas GM and Stellantis have made additional investments in Canada’s battery provide chain. In partnership with South Korea’s Posco Chemical, GM mentioned in March it might construct a $500-million battery supplies plant in Bécancour, Que. Stellantis and three-way partnership associate LG Energy Solution introduced plans to spend $5 billion on a battery cell manufacturing plant in Windsor, Ont. the identical month.
Musk hinted that Canada was a frontrunner a few months later at the Annual Shareholders Meeting. After several attendees suggested Canada as a potential location, Musk said “I’m half Canadian, maybe I should.” For their part, Tesla has also been lobbying the Ontario and federal governments to set up a facility north of the border. The automaker also signed a deal earlier this year with Vale for a Canadian supply of nickel. They also may have dropped a not-so-subtle hint in the mobile app update last night.
The actions of the manufacturer in the country only confirm this, although official statements have not yet been made. It should be kept in mind that the production can be both cars and batteries or operations related to their production, which would make sense, given that Tesla already has one site in Canada.