Gigafactory South Korea?
2023 is just around the corner, and countries are jockeying for Tesla's attention - hoping to be picked as the location for the next Gigafactory.
The latest country to throw their hat into this ring is South Korea. The President's office recently described a virtual meeting between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The meeting reportedly took place on November 23rd, and while the South Korean government didn't release a transcript, their description includes some interesting details about the conversation.
According to the President's office brief, Yoon and Musk spoke at length about the CEO's plan to construct a ne Gigafactory in Asia - including more specific discussion of Tesla's willingness to invest in South Korea's EV charging infrastructure, and the possibility of expanding the supply chain from South Korean companies like LG and Samsung.
And while previous hints from Tesla seemed to show that the next Gigafactory would likely be in North America - with Canada being the top contender there - the EV company has been keeping its eyes on an Asian expansion as well.
The most promising location up until the call with South Korea's President had been Indonesia. The country's President Joko Widodo has been making strong plays for Tesla's attention this year, including offering access to the country's vast nickel deposits, and the land to construct an entire production line.
And while that's obviously an enticing offer, it's clear that South Korea has its own benefits.
South Korean President Yoon correctly pointed out that his country is a world-class automotive industrial hub - with gigantic automakers like Hyundai and Kia making their homes there.
But more importantly is the presence of Tesla partners Samsung and LG.
Tesla and Samsung have been developing electronic equipment for the EV company's vehicles - such as the semiconductors for their in-vehicle infotainment and the media control units - that big touch screen on the dashboard that controls driver assistance, music, security, and even gaming.
LG on the other hand just made the move to invest $452 million for a new production line for the creation of Tesla's new 4680 - they reportedly cited GigaShanghai's increased production as one of the reasons they made the choice.
And to cap it all off, President Yoon told Musk that the South Korean government would move to improve regulations that might make it difficult for the foreign companies to do business there.
So it looks like South Korea knows how to press their advantage. It will still likely be a bit before Tesla makes that final decision, but we don't envy their choice between the well-developed South Korea, or the potential of Indonesia and its natural resources.
It wouldn't be out of the question to just do both, either, now that we think of it.