Federal states bid for new Musk super plant

In Elon Musk opened the Länder race at the end of June via Twitter it is shortly after three o'clock in the morning in Germany. The boss of Tesla announced by a short message that Germany is leading in choosing a location for a European gigafactory. The factory will produce not only battery cells for electric cars, as in the American Gigafactory in Nevada, but also the vehicles that Tesla wants to manufacture there.

Despite all the problems with which the automaker is still struggling, would such an investment of billions of dollars for many states be attractive? Musk himself specifies a region where he could very well imagine his new factory. "Maybe that makes sense at the Franco-German border, near the Benelux countries," he writes

In the end, the affected federal states accurately recorded the tweet of Elon Musk. The Saar government immediately sent a letter in English to America and invited Musk to visit. The small federal state is not only already a solid automotive site and perfectly meets the geographical requirements of Musk, writes Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU) and the Minister of Economic Affairs Anke Rehlinger (SPD) in their joint letter. The Saarland is also one of the "world's leading sites for computer and artificial intelligence," say politicians, there is a test track for autonomous driving and workers highly qualified and industrially experienced.

did not exist, and it is also doubtful whether the previously announced locational benefits convince Musk. The boss of Tesla has again managed to ensure that several regions compete for their favor and must now outbid to attract investment in their own country. In addition to the Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate has already launched the hat in the ring. Although they do not want to comment on the details in Mainz, they stress that they already have good relations with Americans.

"Tesla is already headquartered in Rhineland-Palatinate with Tesla Grohmann, and for this reason the Ministry of Economic Affairs maintains close contacts with the company", said a spokesman WELT word. The ministry also highlights the good conditions for the establishment of Rhineland-Palatinate for investments. Tesla Grohmann is a mechanical engineering company that was purchased to automate the car manufacturer's battery production. At the time, Elon Musk was traveling to Prüm in the Eifel region to announce the acquisition.

At least two federal states compete for billions of potential investments. But it could be more. In Bavaria, the Ministry of the Economy does not want to exclude or confirm that they would work for a Tesla factory, it would be just too early, it says. In addition, Bavaria really lacks the Franco-German border – but from an American point of view, the distances remain manageable, all the more so as many suppliers will be on-site via BMW and Audi

Baden-Württemberg announces a network of suppliers

Baden-Württemberg. Württemberg, also a clbadic car country with Daimler, Porsche, Bosch and many other suppliers, would even fulfill the condition of the border with France. "As the leading international automotive site and important development center for future mobile solutions, Baden-Württemberg is keenly interested in new and innovative implementations such as Tesla," said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport. WELT economy. "There are already contacts, in which the country is bringing its strengths for a possible settlement of Tesla."

In addition to the narrow network of suppliers, Baden-Wuerttemberg was mainly due to its close relations with the neighboring country "for a possible major French predestined project". According to a spokesman for the Ministry of Economy, there was no effort to convince Musk in the Third German Highway Lower Saxony

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More there are competitors, plus the price of the investment decision should be high. When Musk was looking for a location for the first Gigafactory, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and California were arguing over the plant. In the end, it was about who Tesla promised the biggest promotion. The desert state of Nevada, which until then had not really attracted attention as a place of automobile production, has finally secured the contract – for about $ 40,000. 1.3 billion dollars (1.1 billion euros).

Among others, Tesla got Committed to not having to pay sales tax in the state for the next 20 years, Nevada also provides ten-year discounts on other taxes, such as on employee income. Tesla is in turn about five billion dollars stuck in the Nevada factory.

Who pays the most, gets the nod to

It would not be the first time in Germany that Germany outdoes itself in the competition for the creation of a factory, Only a few weeks ago, Chinese battery manufacturer CATL announced that it would build a new factory in Erfurt in cooperation with BMW. Other federal states had also been trying to fabricate battery cells for promising electromobility, but Thuringia should have offered more in the end. The level of subsidies is far from clear. The then Director of BMW Purchasing, Markus Duesmann, acknowledged that state funding had been one of the decisive arguments for the location of Erfurt.

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Musk stayed at the factory

Tesla probably demand even more subsidies, especially since the German states are competing with one another only, but other states are still in the race. Until now, there is no final decision for Germany. The Netherlands could also have good opportunities, where Tesla has so far badembled and converted vehicles manufactured in the United States for the European market. After Elon Musk had spoken via Twitter for Germany, some Dutchmen spoke up