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Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia has asked\u00a0Tesla Inc.<\/a>\u00a0to announce the start of construction soon of its planned factory in the Mexican state, national newspaper El Financiero reported.<\/p>\n \u201cI asked Tesla<\/a> to come by in March at the latest to make an announcement around laying the first stone and they didn\u2019t tell me no,\u201d Garcia said Saturday during the inauguration of a recreational project in the area of the La Huasteca ecological park in Santa Catarina, where Tesla plans to build its factory.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope that very soon, in less than a month, the company will come,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Read more: Tesla-beating BYD and other Chinese carmakers using Mexico as back door poses \u2018extinction-level\u2019 threat to U.S. auto sector, warns trade group<\/a><\/p>\n Construction of the Nuevo Leon factory, which had been slated to make Tesla\u2019s cheaper next-generation vehicles, has been delayed due to\u00a0Elon Musk\u2019s misgivings about the global economy. Other problems, including permitting delays and a dearth of infrastructure, also have plagued the process.<\/p>\n Tesla plans to build a cheaper next-generation electric vehicle at the gigafactory, helped in part by\u00a0$153 million<\/a>\u00a0in local government incentives. Musk requested last year that Nuevo Leon improve electricity, water and transportation in the region before it starts construction.<\/p>\n Musk\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0in October he wasn\u2019t ready to go \u201cfull tilt\u201d on the facility because of high interest rates. He also said that Tesla will produce its next-generation entry level vehicle in its Texas factory before its Mexican facility since the new plant won\u2019t be ready in time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nSubscribe to the Eye on AI newsletter to stay abreast of how AI is shaping the future of business. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n