In a recent statement, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki admitted that he had spoken to Elon Musk about initiatives that could push electromobility further. While it took some time for the conversation to be arranged, the Prime Minister noted that he was able to speak with the Tesla CEO directly.
“Indeed, I talked to Mr. Elon Musk, which is one of the leading figures of electromobility. We need to wait a few months to be with Elon Musk from this conversation, but this conversation has actually taken place,” he said (quote is translated from energetyka24, a Polish news site).
Mr. Morawiecki is expected to visit the United States this week. While addressing the publication, the Prime Minister noted that he will be meeting with a number of investors and entrepreneurs to discuss the idea of investing in Poland. “First of all, there are meetings with investors, with Wall Street in New York, but also with the American media and, above all, those entrepreneurs who want to invest in Poland. We want to attract American capital for modern investments because it translates into high-wage jobs,” he said.
It remains to be seen exactly how Tesla and Poland could cooperate towards a shared goal. Nevertheless, Poland is already deeply committed to electromobility, with the government planning and introducing a number of electric vehicle-friendly regulations for consumers. Among these are subsidies for EVs, state energy companies investing in the buildout of electric car charging infrastructure, and laws encouraging new buildings to have designated parking spots where EVs could be charged, to name a few.
Poland is also among the countries which are looking to be the site for Tesla’s Europe Gigafactory, which Elon Musk has mentioned in the past. Musk discussed Gigafactory 4 (a tentative name for the upcoming facility) back in July 2018, stating that Germany is the leading choice for the Europe-based factory. Poland, for its part, has noted that its initiatives such as its Strategy for Responsible Development and organizations such as the Polish Development Fund will support Tesla if the company builds Gigafactory 4 in the country, as noted in defence24. Some reports later emerged which hinted that Tesla and Poland were in talks, but the reports remained unconfirmed.
Amid Tesla’s continued ramp of its activities, the company will need more Gigafactories to meet the demand for its vehicles and energy storage products. Today, every vehicle Tesla delivers to Europe is manufactured in Fremont, CA. But with a Gigafactory in Europe building vehicles in the same manner that Gigafactory 3 will be manufacturing the Model 3 and Model Y in China, Tesla’s expansion across the globe could become a lot smoother and far less painful.
