Elon Musk reportedly discussed with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa the possibility of Tesla establishing a battery factory in South Africa.
According to Bloomberg, the conversation took place earlier this year but is only now coming to light. During the discussion, Musk also urged Ramaphosa to ease regulations to allow Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite-based internet service, to operate in the country.
Currently, South Africa requires Starlink to be at least 30% Black-owned to gain approval, which would likely necessitate a local partnership for SpaceX.
Where does Tesla fit into this?
The report suggests Musk and Ramaphosa explored the idea of Tesla building a battery factory in South Africa as part of a broader deal to loosen regulations, paving the way for Starlink’s entry. However, it remains unclear what kind of battery factory they discussed.
Tesla manufactures its own battery cells at Gigafactory Texas, but production is still ramping up, and these cells are primarily used for the Cybertruck. Additionally, Tesla produces battery packs for its EVs and energy storage systems, the latter growing faster than the EV segment. The company has also been building “Megafactories” dedicated to producing its Megapack energy storage solutions.
While Tesla has been rumored to consider factory projects in South Africa since 2016, no concrete developments have materialized so far.
