Insiders revealed that Tesla has recently discussed plans with the White House on CATL’s involvement in building the factory. Tesla representatives hope the White House will clarify the provisions of the “Inflation Reduction Act” that the Biden administration will finalize this week. Rohan Patel, Tesla’s Senior Global Director of Public Policy, was involved in the discussion.
Tesla hopes to reach a similar deal to Ford’s collaboration with CATL to build a wholly-owned factory in the United States. Last month, Ford announced it will use CATL’s technology to build a battery plant in Michigan. Currently, Tesla is in expansion mode, with $22 billion in cash used to increase production and reduce costs in response to intensifying competition. CATL is key to Tesla’s plan, as the company produces lithium iron phosphate batteries, which are cheaper than the nickel batteries used in the West.
Insiders said Tesla is considering building a new battery plant in Texas to supply batteries to its electric vehicle assembly plant there, but the specific location has not been determined. Similar to the Ford deal structure, Tesla will own and operate the factory while obtaining a technology license from CATL.
Currently, the US auto industry has been lobbying to influence how the US Treasury Department interprets the requirements of President Biden’s landmark climate plan. The law aims to incentivize the US electric vehicle supply chain to reduce its reliance on Chinese battery materials. One specific provision that has been heavily lobbied is 30D, which aims to withhold consumer tax credits for electric vehicles containing a certain amount of China-related materials in their batteries.
However, Ford’s proposal for collaboration with CATL has been opposed by lawmakers, including Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. They argue that the collaboration will benefit CATL from US subsidies. Ford said CATL will not receive any US tax payments from the deal. Barclays analyst Dan Levy said in a research report that Tesla’s deal with CATL may face some political resistance, similar to what Ford is seeing.
Tesla, the White House, CATL, and Patel have yet to comment.
Source：IThome
