MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is holding a call on Monday morning with Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk, two officials said, after the Mexican leader revealed he would be talking to the “owner” of the electric vehicle maker.
Lopez Obrador made his remark as he was finishing a regular morning news conference, without explaining precisely if he meant Musk, who is the company’s largest shareholder.
Two Mexican officials later confirmed the president was referring to Musk. Tesla did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Reuters.
News of the call comes after Lopez Obrador said on Friday Tesla would be denied permits to build a plant in the northern state of Nuevo Leon, where the company has been considering investing, if water in the arid region is scarce.
Those comments marked the strongest sign yet that the president’s concerns over water supply could become a deal-breaker for Tesla’s plans near the U.S.-Mexico border.
(Reporting by Dave Graham and Diego Ore; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle)