Mexico City - Martha Delgado, Deputy Minister for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that the Mexican government is planning to establish a battery industry park where Tesla and other lithium battery manufacturers can establish factories, with the goal of the central region of the country. Delgado stated that the government hopes to establish an industrial park where multiple battery manufacturers can establish factories, including Elon Musk's company Tesla, which has been in talks with the government for several months regarding the company's plans.

The government plans to build a battery cluster in the central part of the country as it is a strategic location for supplying automotive factories in Puebla, Cretaro, Mexico, and Guanajuato. According to the Mexican Automobile Industry Association (AMIA), the deputy minister also mentioned that the state of Idalgo is one of the entities that benefits from installing factories in the central part of the country, although the state does not have light vehicle manufacturing factories.

On March 1st, President Andreas Manuel Lopez Ovrador stated at an early meeting that he believed Tesla could make lithium related investments in Sonora or Idalgo states. When asked if the government plans to create a lithium battery cluster in the near future, Delgado said, "We hope to achieve this goal this year." Delgado also stated that there is a subsidy issue that is being discussed with Tesla, as well as the government and the Ministry of Finance. She stated that the United States currently provides subsidies to lithium-ion battery manufacturers, while the Mexican government has stated that it will not provide direct subsidies to such companies. The Ministry of Finance is developing a series of "interesting" incentives to encourage Tesla to open factories in Mexico.

On March 3rd, Mexican Finance Minister Rogelio Ramirez de la O. stated at a press conference that Tesla executives' proposal is for the government to provide tax incentives that match US tax incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), with an estimated amount of $369 billion, to mitigate climate change and stimulate the growth of the electric vehicle industry. However, the Mexican government refuses to provide tax incentives that match those of the United States for Tesla's investment in battery factories in the country.

Delgado also stated that the energy dispute within the framework of the USMCA free trade agreement between Mexico, Canada, and the United States is not an issue discussed with Elon Musk as it will not affect the operation of a factory located in Santa Catalina, a municipality in New Leon. This dispute has no impact on this factory, "she said.

When asked if Tesla will generate all the energy it needs, she replied that it will not. The super factory will meet a portion of its energy needs, while the other part, like other factories in the United States, will make demands to the State Utilities Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). Country. She stated that the energy dispute is about the self-sufficiency of several companies forming a group, while Tesla's situation is not the same. She added that the commercial dispute was caused by a company using self provided numbers to form a set of fictitious association proportions.

Mexico City — The Mexican government is planning to create an electric battery industrial park where Tesla and other lithium battery manufacturers could set up shop, targeting the center of the country as the location, Martha Delgado, undersecretary for multilateral affairs and Human Rights at the Foreign Ministry, told Bloomberg Linea.Delgado said the government wants to create an industrial park where several battery manufacturers could set up shop, among them Tesla, Elon Musk's company, with which the government has been in talks for several months regarding the company's plans.

The governmenfs plan is for the battery cluster to be built in the center of the country, since it is a strategic location for supplying automotive plants located in the states of Puebla, Queretaro, Mexico and Guanajuato. The undersecretary also mentioned the state of Hidalgo as one of the entities that would benefit from the installation of the plant in the center of the country, although the state does not have a light vehicle manufacturing plant, according to the Mexican Automotive Industry Association (AMIA).

On March 1, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in his morning conference that he sees the possibility of investments in Sonora or Hidalgo related to lithium by Tesla. “We want it to happen this year,“ Delgado said when asked if the government plans to create the lithium-battery cluster in the near future. Delgado said that there is also the question of subsidies, which is being discussed with Tesla, and which the government and the Finance Ministry are also discussing.She said that the US currently offers subsidies to lithium battery manufacturers, while the Mexican government has said that there will not be direct subsidies to such companies, and that the finance ministry is working on a package of Interesting" incentives for Tesla to set up shop in Mexico.

On March 3, Mexico's Finance Minister Rogelio Ramirez de la O. told a press conference that the proposal from Tesla executives was for the government to match US tax incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), estimated at $369 billion to mitigate climate change and spur the growth of the electric vehicle sector. However, the Mexican government refused to match the US tax incentives for Tesla to invest in a battery plant in the country.

Delgado also said that the energy dispute within the framework of the USMCA free trade agreement between Mexico, Canada and the US was not an issue that was discussed with Elon Musk because it does not affect the operation of the plant to be located in Santa Catarina, a municipality of Nuevo Leon state. “The dispute has no impact on this plant," she said.

Questioned about whether Tesla will generate all the energy it requires, she answered that no, that the Gigafactory will generate part of its energy needs and the other part will be requested from state-utility Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), like any other factory in the state. She said the energy dispute is about the self-supply of companies that have formed a group to self-supply among several companies, and which is not the case of Tesla. The commercial dispute, she added, is due to the fact that there were companies that used the figure of self-supply to form a group with fictitious association percentages and sell energy among themselves, which is illegal, that is why the self-supply model was prohibited.

Separately, and also on March 3, Bloomberg Linea asked Nuevo Leon state governor Samuel Garcia if the energy poicy dispute with the US had been on the table during the discussions with Tesla, and he said it was not a theme discussed with Musk.

According to Economy Minister Raquel Buenrostro, more than 400 companies have expressed an interest in setting up shop in Mexico to relocate their supply and production chains, but she acknowledged that the energy issue is a fundamental one regarding their decision.