Tesla announced it would be building a new factory in the Mexican state of Nuevo León, just across the U.S. border last year. Now, however, those plans seem to have stalled out, all thanks to the potential of a Trump presidency.
Elon Musk said on an investor call this week that the possibility of Trump tariffs was the direct reason behind the construction hold, according to Bloomberg. Until the election, it seems no progress will be made on Giga Mexico:
“I think we need to see just where things stand after the election,” Musk said during Tesla’s earnings call on Tuesday. The EV maker’s chief executive officer formally endorsed the former president earlier this month.
It’s one of the first times Musk has clearly delineated business decisions based on the outcome of the US presidential race. “Trump has said that he’ll put heavy tariffs on vehicles produced in Mexico,” he told Tesla investors and analysts. “So it doesn’t make sense to invest a lot in Mexico if that is going to be the case. We kind of need to see where things play out politically.”
Musk has previously claimed that a Trump presidency would benefit Tesla, saying that a cut to EV subsidies would “only help” the automaker; which some analysts agree could be the case. Others, however, think a second Trump term would hurt the entire EV market in ways that Tesla can’t escape.
Given the poor response to this week’s investor call, one would think Musk would only be backing endeavors that seem a sure thing. Yet, it seems the man is as unpredictable as ever, even when it comes to his embattled position leading a company that’s slowly losing steam. It seems the Mexican factory is far from the only piece of Tesla riding on this election.