Source: Wall Street Journal
Author: Stacy Meichtry, SAM Schechner
French President Macron held talks with Musk on Monday, which is part of his efforts to fight against US subsidies and tax preferential policies. European officials said that these policies may attract investment in key technologies of batteries and other energy transformation.
Musk is the heads of companies such as Tesla, Twitter and SpaceX, and he met Macron in the Elysee Palace.Subsequently, Musk attended the lunch party with dozens of other foreign CEOs in the Palace of Versailles, which was part of the investment conference organized by Macron.
After a private talks with Macron, Musk told reporters that he had no news for the time being and stated that he was very impressed with the French president.
Musk said: "I believe that Tesla will invest in major investment in France in the future."
Macron is seeking to make the EU as the "third pole" power he calls, so that it has the ability to compete with economic and military super powers such as the United States and China.The French leader said that only by developing its own industrial policy and military strength can the EU have enough to create their own destiny.
However, Macron's ambition to Europe has encountered severe geopolitical reality.The invasion of Ukraine in Russia has caused Europe to rely on the US natural gas supply, and to a certain extent replace Russia's low -cost fuels that have been relying on for decades.The United States is transporting a billion dollar of weapons to support Ukraine's war efforts.
Last month, Macron visited China, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and called on Europe to develop "strategic autonomy" independent of the United States, which was criticized by the allies.Macron told reporters on the plane at the time that following the footsteps of the United States on the tension between Taiwan and mainland China, it was "the worst thing" for Europe.
Macron also bluntly warned the impact of Bayeng's inflation reduction bill on the European industry.Automotive manufacturers and battery manufacturers have accelerated their plans to build factories in the United States in order to use subsidies provided by the bill.The bill includes the minimum proportion of local manufacturing parts required to obtain incentive qualifications to promote enterprises to ensure that batteries and components are derived from the United States, which is re -reshaping the electric vehicle industry.
Whether the goal of talking to Musk Musk is to make Tesla build a car factory similar to a car built near Berlin in France, French Financial Secretary Lermel seems cautious."If we want to make these discussions succeed, it is best to keep it confidential."
A spokesman for the French Ministry of Finance said that in a talks with Musk, Lemal emphasized incentives to attract the "green industry" and the United States competition, including providing new tax to electric vehicles towaived.
"In order to attract investors, countries are using public funds. The United States is doing this. China is doing this. Now it is time for the European Union to do this," Lemer said.
According to a report from the European lobbying group Transportation Environment, Europe originally planned to build dozens of super battery factories by 2030, while new subsidies in the United States may reduce the production capacity of these plans in Europe up to three points up to three points.of two.According to the report, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom are the most risky.
Last month, General Motors and Hyundai stated that they are working with Korean battery manufacturers to establish factories in the United States, including a factory located in Georgia, with a total investment of $ 8 billion.The Wall Street Journal has previously reported that Stellandis and BMW are also negotiating with Panasonic to invest in American battery factories.
Tesla and Panasonic, His Majesty Musk, share a factory in Nevada, where the Japanese company produces a battery cell, and Tesla assembled the battery cell into a battery pack for cars.The company plans to produce battles in large factories in Berlin, but later shelved related plans and focused on incentives for the United States.
In France, the government has strived to attract manufacturers to the "battery valley" in the northern part of the country.PROLOGIUM, headquartered in Taiwan, said on Friday that it will invest 5.2 billion euros on Friday to build a large battery plant and research center in the port of Dunkirk.The company stated that the construction of the factory will begin in the second half of 2024 and will hire 3,000 people in the area by 2030.
