A Tesla Cybertruck is parked on a local Tesla dealer in Paramus, N.J., on July 23.Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday that Elon Musk’s comment on the possibility that Tesla TSLA-Q will not invest in Mexico “is not serious.”
Musk said on Tuesday the EV maker has paused plans for a plant in Mexico and would reassess investing in a new gigafactory in the country after the U.S. presidential election.
In his acceptance speech at the Republican Party’s convention last week in Milwaukee, U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump said his administration would slap tariffs of 100% to 200% on cars made in Mexico to make them “unsellable” in the United States.
That prompted Musk to say that it makes no sense to invest in Mexico if Trump returns to the White House and imposes heavy tariffs on vehicles produced in the Latin American nation.
In his daily news conference, Lopez Obrador questioned Musk’s assertion, arguing that the costs of automobile production in the United States are “very high.”
“It’s not serious, they must have another business plan,” Lopez Obrador said.