Giga Montreal? Canadian Government Opens Talks With Tesla Over New Factory

The automaker is reportedly considering several locations in Ontario and Quebec.

By: Ben O'Hare

Sep 11, 2022 at 5:22pm ET

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Tesla is considering several sites in Canada for its next Gigafactory according to reports. This comes as Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s industry and innovation minister, recently confirmed talks with Tesla over a new factory. He stated the following (via Reuters):

“Yes, I’m talking to them,” Champagne said, in response to a question about reports of Tesla looking to build a factory in Canada. “I’m talking also to all the automakers around the world.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted at a Canadian Gigafactory on numerous occasions, most recently at the automaker’s annual shareholders’ meeting last month. And now reports from Canada suggest representatives from Tesla have already visited numerous locations in Ontario and Quebec. Moreover, Tesla is currently looking for a high-volume recruiter in the Quebec area, indicating the automaker could be on the verge of hiring several thousand Canadian workers.

The Quebec job listing means a Montreal Gigafactory could be probable. Tesla typically locates its Gigafactories near relatively large cities (population 250,000+) to ensure its workforce demands can be met.

Tesla currently has six factories across the world, five of which are deemed large enough to be called "Gigafactories". The automaker is expected to produce 1.4 million cars this year, a significant increase from the 930,422 EVs Tesla made in 2021.

Source: Electrek