RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, and Space X, the driving force of Starlink, the world’smost advanced internet satellite project, and owner of Twitter paid a brief visit to Brazil last Friday, meeting with President Jair Bolsonaro and other leaders in the country. During the talks, the topic of a gigafactory for electric cars was one of the key points.
This idea did not arise overnight, as the current Brazilian government has been approaching Tesla for at least two years, proposing to build a factory. In 2020, a commission had already met with representatives of the brand to prepare for Musk’s visit.
While at the time the city of Florianópolis in the state of Santa Catarina was considered a possible location, plans now point to the state of Amazonas. A region where the South African tycoon has other projects in mind.
CONDITIONS ARE RIPE FOR A TESLA GIGAFACTORY IN BRAZIL
As Tesla vehicle production is being considered in Brazil, authorities have taken steps to create the best conditions for it. Starting in 2019, electric car factories coming to Brazil will be exempt from payments that are otherwise common in this industry.
While there is no official information that makes it certain that a gigafactory will be built in Brazil, statements from Brazilian diplomats confirm that the possibility is open. Wilson Lima, governor of Amazonas (Brazil), announced Tesla’s arrival in the state.
While the matter is being resolved, Elon Musk and his company SpaceX’s Starlink will develop a project to bring the Internet to remote areas of the Amazon and other Brazilian states using its satellites. In addition to monitoring the Amazon rainforest.
Tesla’s global expansion is imminent. In addition to gigafactories in the United States (the last one was installed in Austin, Texas), Tesla currently has production centers in China, Asia, and Germany for Europe. It’s not bad that Latin America is its next target.