A change in the way subsidies for the purchase of electric cars are granted in the United States could put an end to a proposed Tesla battery factory in Germany. The builder would indeed have suspended the project following an announcement from the White House. Concretely, producing more batteries in the United States would allow Tesla to be eligible for other tax reliefs within the framework of the last American anti-inflation shield (IRA) signed into law by Joe Biden last month.
The tax credits proposed by the text could reduce the cost of Tesla electric car batteries by more than a third for customers in the United States – when the manufacturer chooses to produce them on American soil. An additional tax credit of $7,500 could also become available to customers if Tesla stops manufacturing the batteries for its American vehicles outside the United States.
Tesla suspends battery factory project in Germany
After an era of relocation and globalized segmentation of the international supply chain, the United States wishes to secure its leadership in certain strategic areas, including the production of batteries for electric vehicles. Tesla is also looking for a site in the country to build a lithium refinery, an element at the heart of current battery technologies.
For now, most of the world’s lithium reprocessing takes place in China – but the country has shown increasingly strong diplomacy in recent years, not to mention its recent rapprochement with Putin’s Russia. the outbreak of the invasion in Ukraine – and its military ambitions in the South China Sea, and towards Taiwan, a great ally of the United States.
It is therefore understandable that the USA seeks to repatriate as much cutting-edge technology as possible: it is a question of keeping control of it, and not being blackmailed by a country which could take decisions contrary to the interests of its business partners.
In addition to the new US regulations, Tesla may also have taken the decision to fundamentally review its strategy in Europe because of the particularly intense effects of the energy crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine and tensions with Russia. According to the Wall Street Journal, Tesla has begun discussions to repatriate battery production equipment originally intended for Germany.
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But the manufacturer’s final decision remains to be officially confirmed. For now, Tesla declines to further comment.