The official added that in the first quarter of this year there was just over 20 billion dollars in foreign direct investment, a figure she described as a record.
Buenrostro clarified that the Mexican government has no record yet of any investment from the company of tycoon Elon Musk. “The official thing is what they register and there are no records, they have never registered investments. They made announcements in the media, but they have not made any official paperwork,” he said.
Tesla said last week that a victory by Republican Donald Trump in the November presidential election could affect its plan to build the $5 billion factory in Mexico, as the candidate has promised “strong” tariffs on Mexican products.
“I think we need to see where things are after the election,” Musk said after reporting a sharp drop in Tesla’s second-quarter profits.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador criticized the company’s decision.
“It’s not serious,” the president told reporters, noting that Trump’s warnings must be understood in the context of the election.
Tesla planned to build the complex near the city of Monterrey (northeast). Mexico is home to plants of large automakers such as Ford, General Motors and Audi, which take advantage of the proximity, lower production costs and the T-MEC free trade agreement with the United States and Canada.
