Tesla considering plant near Mexico City's new airport, Mexican official says

By Diego Oré

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Electric carmaker Tesla Inc is considering setting up an assembly plant near a new Mexico City airport, which would serve as an export hub for the firm, Mexican presidential spokesman Jesus Ramirez said.

Ramirez said that Tesla could put a plant at an industrial park in development about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA), a new hub opened by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador last year.

"Tesla is looking at investing in that area to take advantage of AIFA," Ramirez told Reuters late on Monday, noting the site could serve as a base for the firm to export by air.

He gave no further details, but the remarks follow recent comments by Ramirez to newspaper El Heraldo de Mexico about the prospect of a Tesla investment there.

"Tesla will invest there ... in an assembly plant, to export directly by air," Ramirez told the newspaper.

Separately, a Mexican official told Reuters that Tesla had been shown the site, but had given no indication of its plans.

Chief Executive Elon Musk has been eyeing a potential investment in the northern state of Nuevo Leon bordering Texas, according to media reports and officials who spoke to Reuters.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ramirez told El Heraldo de Mexico that Tesla was aiming to invest in the T-MexPark, a major industrial park being built close to the Felipe Angeles airport.

(Reporting by Diego Ore; Editing by David Gregorio; Additional reporting by Raul Cortes Fernandez and Dave Graham in Mexico City, and Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco)