Later City News: It seems, Tesla has government support to construct a huge ‘Gigafactory’ in south-west England to build electric cars and batteries then the UK government looking at a site for gigafactory in Somerset.
Business secretary "Kwasi Kwarteng" revealed he believes Somerset "has the manufacturing skill and competence to be able to sustain an excellent gigafactory", adding that the Government is "considering and looking" at the site.
Tesla Somerset will be one of the largest Tesla factories in Europe next to the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg (Gigafactory Berlin). The Gigafactory Berlin is a European manufacturing plant for Tesla, Inc. under construction in Grünheide, Germany. The campus is 35 kilometers (20 mi) south-east of central Berlin on the Berlin–Wrocław railway.
Mr. Kwarteng follows media speculation last year that the Elon Musk-run electric vehicle manufacturer could build a 90-acre factory in Somerset.
Experts believe that Tesla needs to crack Europe’s $360 billion corporate car market. Elon Musk and his electric car company Tesla are reportedly looking for a UK base, with a giant Somerset site "trying to secure the enormous letting", according to reports.
Somerset in South West England has 560,631 population and is a county that borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is bounded to the north and west by the Severn Estuary and the Bristol Channel, its coastline facing southeastern Wales.
Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg facility and its Berlin location were announced by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in November 2019 at the Das Goldene Lenkrad award show. The factory is planned to produce batteries, battery packs, and powertrains for use in Tesla vehicles, and also assemble the Tesla Model Y, with a proposed start of production in late 2021.
Gigafactory Berlin's construction work had begun by early 2020 with site preparation and foundation work underway. According to a January 2020 publication by the local environmental agency, the factory is expected to begin operations in July 2021.
Tesla Somerset also expected to involve in both battery and electric vehicles. Mr. Kwarteng outlined the Government's pledge to support battery and electric vehicle manufacturing in the UK over the coming years.
The business secretary said he believes Somerset "has the manufacturing skill and competence to be able to sustain an excellent gigafactory", adding that the government is “considering and looking” at a site in the county.
UK business secretary backed the ability of the county to "sustain an excellent gigafactory" and confirmed the Government is "considering" the site.
PropertyWeek, a trade publication, revealed the UK government was urgently seeking a 4 million sq ft site to accommodate a new Tesla gigafactory and that Gravity was one of the sites "trying to secure the enormous letting".
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