Tesla will no longer consider Valencia to host its new Gigafactory

Valencia is no longer part of Tesla’s possible directions for opening a new electric vehicle plant. In accordance with Digital Economyan automaker run by Elon Musk. frustrated by recent leaks and decided to exclude them from the candidates. At least for the time being, the negotiations that were held are no longer ongoing.

“Ximo Puig said that the Tesla issue came to light due to an internal leak that made Tesla very angry,” said a source consulted by said media outlets.

Thus, those led by Elon Musk are outraged that confidential information reached the ears of the press while the negotiations were going on.

It was June 8, when, according to World, Tesla started negotiations with Generalitat Valenciana a year ago. build a new factory in the area. In fact, company executives have already visited Valencia to evaluate some of the places.

Yes, it is important to note that Tesla and the Valencian authorities They have not yet reached a final agreement.. According to a report from eldiario.esnegotiations were in full swing, but not closed.

Tesla, in fact, was considering an investment in Valencia worth about 4,500 million euros, which exceeds Volkswagen’s investment (3,000 million). This will be part of Generalitat’s ambitious plan for important companies in the sector to open operations in Valencia. The goal is to attract investments of 24,400 million euros and create 43,000 jobs.

Elections in Spain are another hurdle for Tesla

Aside from the aforementioned leak, another reason Tesla would have doubts is that Pedro Sanchez, the President of Spain, did not take sufficient part in this matter..

Elon Musk has been on a tour of Europe meeting with high-profile leaders from countries that are also promoting electric mobility. Emmanuel Macron, President of France, and Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy, are among them. Sanchez, however, could not intervene because it is impossible to hold multilateral meetings eight weeks before elections in a European Union country.

We must remember that Spain is in the middle of an electoral phase ahead of the general elections to be held on 23 July. Thus, the political sector significantly changed its agenda and this influenced Tesla’s negotiations with Valencia. Digital Economy mentions that Puig was left without sufficient support from the highest level of the Spanish government.

Is there a chance that Tesla will revive interest in opening a Gigafactory in Valencia? At least now it looks difficult. The same media alleges that Puig, seeing Tesla’s opportunities disappear, is redoubling efforts to attract investment from other foreign companies.

Tesla, for its part, will continue to look for a new direction outside of Valencia. One of the countries that would raise their hand to acquire the second European gigafactory (after Berlin) is Portugal. There is no doubt that after Spain is removed from the list of candidates, there will be several people who will show interest.