Mexico's Economy Minister to Meet with Elon Musk

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico's Economy Minister Ebrard plans to meet soon with billionaire and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk to discuss his plans for an electric car factory in northern Mexico, as he mentioned on local radio Thursday.

Ebrard, a former foreign minister and seasoned political figure, aims to revive the proposal for a so-called Tesla gigafactory in Nuevo Leon state, which would be a significant early win for President Claudia Sheinbaum's administration, in power since last month.

"I'm going to set up a meeting with (Musk) soon so that he tells me exactly what he's thinking and see what we can do so this project moves forward," Ebrard stated in an interview with Radio Formula.

In April, Tesla announced it would focus on utilizing existing factories to produce new, more affordable vehicles, making new factory investments, including in Mexico, unlikely shortly.

The recent victory of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could complicate Mexico's plans, potentially shifting the plant’s location to the United States. During his first term, Trump encouraged U.S. companies to prioritize domestic manufacturing over overseas operations.