MEXICO CITY, Feb 27 (Portal) – Mexico and Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) are close to announcing an agreement on the electric vehicle maker’s plans to invest in Mexico after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Tesla CEO Elon Musk spoke on Monday. This was announced by Mexican officials.
Lopez Obrador previously announced that he would be speaking to the “owner” of Tesla, which officials say means Musk.
One of the officials said after Monday’s call that Tesla was coming to Mexico. A second official said the two sides are “90 percent” on track to reach an agreement.
“The call went really well,” said a third Mexican official.
A fourth Mexican official said details of an agreement between Mexico and Tesla would be announced on Tuesday.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
The call came after Lopez Obrador said on Friday that Tesla would be denied permission to build a plant in northern Nuevo Leon state, where the company is considering investing if water is scarce in the arid region.
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Two of the officials said Musk and Lopez Obrador spoke earlier on Saturday. The call lasted about 40 minutes on Monday and about 35 minutes on Saturday, one of the officers said.
Lopez Obrador’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
The Tesla discussions have become a major test of whether Lopez Obrador can set the terms for large investments in Mexico to pursue policies of resource nationalism that raise lingering concerns among corporate groups.
Leftist Lopez Obrador’s comments last week were the strongest sign yet that his water supply concerns could become a deal-breaker for Tesla’s plans in Nuevo Leon, an opposition-run state on the US-Mexico border .
After Monday’s call, one of the officers said Nuevo Leon was still in the running. The Mexican government has also said the company is considering investing near a new airport in Mexico City.
Reporting by Dave Graham and Diego Ore in Mexico City Editing by Brendan O’Boyle and Matthew Lewis
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