Tesla In Talks With Germany And Holland For European Gigafactory

Tesla has spoken with authorities in Germany and the Netherlands about the possibility of constructing its fourth Gigafactory in one of the two countries.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Tesla has held preliminary discussions with two German states as it looks to lock down a location where it can build its future models and batteries.

The report claims that talks have only just started and aren’t assured to lead to an agreement.

In June, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk took to Twitter to say that the electric automaker’s first choice for the location of its European Gigafactory was Germany, “near the Benelux countries.” If Tesla were to opt for such a location, the facility would complement its engineering division in Pruem, Germany.

Tesla’s bold Gigafactory ambitions come despite the fact that construction of the automaker’s first Gigafactory in the United States is still ongoing. Even so, the brand inked a deal with the Chinese government last month to build its third Gigafactory in Shanghai.

In typical Musk fashion, Tesla’s current plans don’t stop with huge factories. Not only does the company intend on upping production of the entry-level Model 3, it also intends on unveiling a small crossover dubbed the Model Y early next year. Additionally, it is developing an all-electric semi truck, a pickup truck, and an electric hypercar which it claims will out-perform every other high-performance vehicle on the market.

According to Musk, Tesla is on track to be cash-flow positive this year. However, many analysts believe the company will need to raise huge amounts of capital if it is to survive – and it is to that end that it has asked some of its suppliers for a refund of some of the cash it has already paid them.