Regan writes to Musk to make case for Tesla “gigafactory” in Scotland
ALBA Party’s Holyrood leader Ash Regan has written to Elon Musk to make the case for a new Tesla gigafactory in Scotland.
Previously, Musk chose Germany over the UK and was said to have avoided the UK because he was worried about the impact of Brexit on automotive trade.
Alba say that Gigafactories are a vital part of a “future Scottish manufacturing sector”. They say they are a critical part of the global EV transition, producing the batteries for electric cars that millions of people will get into over the next decade. Ash Regan says that for Scotland, their development would mean billions in investment, resulting in potentially tens of thousands of jobs.
As one of the largest producers of EVs globally, Tesla is now among the biggest developers of gigafactories and has locations across the US, Mexico, China and Europe. Its European plant is in Germany – known as Giga Berlin – and was first announced in 2019 as a multi-billion project.
The factory opened in March 2022, produces 500,000 vehicles a year and employs around 10,000 people. It’s been a great success for Germany, which had to compete against many other European countries all vying for Tesla’s investment, including the UK.
However, Alba Party say that Scotland would be the “perfect site” for the next gigafactory thanks to its good transport links, port access and would be the “hub” that could service the rest of the UK and Ireland.
Commenting Alba Party Holyrood leader Ash Regan said:
"There will be nothing ‘just’ about a transition that sees Scottish industry left behind and the high quality jobs of today gone tomorrow. Already we are seeing the real possibility of the value added skills at Grangemouth going with the quality jobs going abroad with only service jobs left behind.
"The transition towards more electric vehicles is happening, and Government targets run the risk of the only way people can get an electric vehicle is if all the skilled work is carried out overseas with the end product shipped to Scotland.
"EV’s are uniquely suited to Scotland’s renewable energy situation with abundant excess energy being able to be absorbed by vehicles in times of over production rather than being subsidised to stop production”.
"The case for a gigafactory in Scotland is strong. We have great access by land, air and sea to the world and are perfectly placed to not only serve the Scottish market but also the rest of the UK and Ireland.
"If Elon Musk took up my offer to explore expansion into Scotland it would be a game changer for our manufacturing base, bring billions to our economy and create thousands of highly skilled and well paid jobs."
