Tesla is reportedly in talks with the Italian government to build electric trucks or vans in the country, according to local media.
Last month, Adolfo Urso, Italy’s Minister for Business and Made in Italy, said that the government was in talks with Tesla for the automaker to build a factory in the country.
Now, a new report from Italy’s Il Sole 24 Ore claims that the government has continued talks with Tesla in recent weeks and it would be for a factory to produce ‘electric trucks and/or vans’:
According to some industrial sources, the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy (Mimit) in recent weeks has actually deepened the dialogue with a possible new automotive manufacturer, but the news is that the most serious contacts would be with Elon Musk’s Tesla for a possible production of electric trucks and/or vans, a line partly still in planning, and therefore not of cars.
It’s unclear what they mean by “electric trucks”. Tesla has the Cybertruck produced in Texas and the Tesla Semi produced in Nevada.
Musk recently said that Tesla could produce the Tesla Semi in Europe at Gigafactory Berlin.
Top comment by BeX#4k
These talks about Semi in Europe are a little bit strange since the Semi is reportedly not sized to european specs in any way. Even if it gets an approval, Tesla is severely behind on trucking, they already have a bad reputation from Semis breaking down due to usage of passenger car components not suitable for heavy duty and the real capabilities are hidden behind NDAs. Not a good sign for a company that is known for overpromising on specifications before the design is even finished (see also: CT, Roadster 2)
Tesla doesn’t produce any vans, but the automaker has long been rumored to be working on a van-like electric people-mover specifically for The Boring Company.
Electrek’s Take
I don’t know how serious these talks are with Italy. Sometimes, governments will be quick to announce any contact with Tesla as a way to signal industries that they are open for business.
In this case, Italy is an active negotiations with Stellenatis to boost local production in Italy as well as with other automakers.
It could all just be part of negotiation tactics, or Tesla could seriously consider a production facility in Italy. I don’t know.
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