[Source: Reuters]

Tesla Inc. will create up to 6,000 jobs at its first Mexican factory and is considering producing batteries in the centre of the country as the electric vehicle maker eyes further investment, senior Mexican officials said on Wednesday.

Mexico said on Tuesday Tesla had chosen the northern state of Nuevo Leon for a new factory worth more than $5 billion, which would be the biggest in a string of recent EV investments in Latin America’s second-largest economy.

BMW, General Motors and Ford have all recently announced plans to begin or step up EV production in Mexico as automakers transition away from fossil fuels.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk is expected to detail his Mexico plans at an Investors Day event on Wednesday at 4 p.m. EST (2100 GMT).

Speaking at a news conference, Lopez Obrador said he had invited Musk to visit and would like him to tour the northern state of Sonora, where the government is building a massive solar energy park and pushing for state-run lithium production.

Tesla selected Nuevo Leon for its plant due to the border state’s proximity to the company’s headquarters in Austin, Texas, said Martha Delgado, a deputy foreign minister.

The factory will employ 5,000 to 6,000 people, she added, noting that similar Tesla plants elsewhere employ up to 10,000.

The company had also scouted sites in the central states of Hidalgo, Queretaro and Puebla, areas that could still be options for electric battery production, Delgado said.