Italy’s Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, has openly invited Tesla to invest more in the Mediterranean country. Speaking at a webinar organized by one of Italy’s largest newspapers, Salvini heavily praised Elon Musk calling him one of the world’s “main innovative geniuses”.
Salvini also discussed how he felt it was a shame Tesla is not more invested in Italy. He felt the Italian car industry would greatly benefit from Tesla and openly invited the firm to setup up its next Giga Factory in the country.
The Minister also stated that Tesla would receive the full support of the Italian government, noting how the automaker has already experienced several problems in Germany. Such issues included a “protected” woodland area on the Giga Berlin site which Tesla wanted to clear for construction. Although Tesla eventually got approval, the entire process took months to pass through the German courts.
Tesla has been selling vehicles in Italy since 2011 and currently has several hundred Superchargers scattered throughout the country.
It will undoubtedly be interesting to see what location gets chosen for the next Gigafactory, with there reportedly being several frontrunners. A Canadian Gigafactory near Montreal has long been rumored, meanwhile somewhere in Mexico could also be a possibility. Whether or not Tesla has any concrete interest in a second European Gigafactory remains to be seen.
