Macron continues charm offensive to get Elon Musk to set up in France
Twitter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is set to meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday for the second time in just over a month. Macron hopes to convince him to set up a Tesla factory in northern France.
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Macron confirmed during a visit earlier this week to France's biggest technology trade fair,Β VivaTech,Β that he would meet the businessman.
The show, which the president toured on Wednesday, heavily promotes France as a destination for startups and investors.
Previewing his talks with Musk, Macron said: "We're going to talk about artificial intelligence, where he is involved, social networks and regulatory frameworks.
"I'm also going to talk to him about cars, batteries and the sector, to tout the attractiveness of France and Europe."
Musk and Macron already held talks at the Choose France business summitΒ in May, after which the maverick boss of Twitter and SpaceX said he was considering big investments in France.
Tesla factory
French technology minister Jean-Noel Barrot fuelled speculation earlier this week by telling US broadcaster CNBC that "a lot of effort and energy" had been expended to secure a TeslaΒ factory for France.
But reports from Spain have claimed that Tesla is planning to build a factory there.
The electric carmaker's European footprint is relatively small, having opened its first manufacturing plant in Germany last year.
If France were chosen, the new factory would likely be built in northern France, where four mega-battery factory projects have already been announced.
Later in the day, Musk is set to face questions at VivaTechΒ in an auditorium that holds more than 4,000 people, for what is billed as an hour-long "conversation" with the event's French founder Maurice Levy.
(with AFP)
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