Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, teased this week he was meeting with an automaker in California. Many suspected it would be Tesla and on Friday morning, Champagne confirmed he did indeed meet with the electric automaker at its Fremont factory.
Champagne made his way to Fremont, California, after touring the Detroit Auto Show this week. He said he visited the Fremont factory and also “met with senior management” to talk about battery electric vehicles and the “Canadian ecosystem” and how Canada can make an economy that works for everyone, saying it was a “great meeting”.
Watch Champagne speak about his experience at Tesla below:
En Californie auj pour rencontrer @Tesla afin de voir comment nous pouvons innover plus et faire plus ensemble!
In California today to meet with @Tesla to explore how we can innovate more and do more together! pic.twitter.com/sQ1ffxYC6a
— François-Philippe Champagne (FPC) 🇨🇦 (@FP_Champagne) September 16, 2022
Rumors have swirled that Tesla may be considering a factory in Canada, possibly in Quebec.
– String removals
– New image assets
tire_and_nickel.png
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-Removal of endpoint (Cached data one is gone?) pic.twitter.com/Yv6t3n9Sef— Tesla App Updates (iOS) (@Tesla_App_iOS) September 16, 2022
Yesterday, Tesla updated its iOS app to add image assets of a Canadian nickel used to measure tire tread. This seems to be a move by the manufacturer to troll or tease something might be happening in Canada.
Recent Tesla filings, specifically lobbyist records in Ontario, have mentioned “advanced manufacturing facility”. Tesla recently met with Champagne in mid-August, according to filings. The Minister also recently visited Tesla’s Canadian facility in Markham, Ontario, while touting, “There is a part of Canada in every Tesla,” the minister said on Twitter after the visit.”
