Choose Shropshire not Somerset! Politicians pitch county to Elon Musk
Tesla founder Elon Musk will be receiving a letter from a county MP asking him to choose Shropshire as the base for a new gigafactory.
The UK Goverment is understood to be looking for sites for a gigafactory – a giant plant which produces batteries for use in electric cars.
Mr Musk visited the UK last month with rumours suggesting the Tesla CEO and entrepreneur was looking at potential locations for a gigafactory.
It has been suggested that Somerset could be one site for the plant.
But, Mark Pritchard, MP for the Wrekin, has now revealed that he has written to the South African tech pioneer suggesting that he look no further than Shropshire as a location for the business.
He said: "I know that Somerset is apparently Tesla's preferred location, but I believe Shropshire and the wider region have a far more advanced and experienced workforce in the design, engineering and manufacturing of the next generation cars.
"All this experience is on top of first class academics who lead the world in vehicle research and development."
Mr Pritchard had also outlined his case on Twitter, writing: "Shropshire & West Midlands region would be well placed to host the new Tesla gigafactory. With a huge pool of car manufacturing, design & engineering talent at hand – as well as strong academic credentials – & local cutting edge electric R&D. Tesla would be at home in Shropshire."
Councillor Thomas Hoof, chairman of Donnington and Muxton Parish Council had earlier made a similar suggestion to Mr Musk – directly on Twitter, writing: "Still looking for a UK site for your Giga factory? Come to Telford and I will buy you a pint in the birthplace of industry. Fitting for a big new tech factory...
"Airport within an hour, its own motorway and freight terminal. Affordable cost of living, lots of land, keen workforce with a history in IT Services! #ElonToTelford"
Telford MP Lucy Allan also added her voice to the efforts, tweeting: "Telford is the perfect place for new Tesla gigafactory – low cost space, skilled workforce, optimistic, ambitious, home of advanced manufacturing, great quality of life."
