Tesla suppliers traveling from Nuevo León, Mexico, to Texas now have their own dedicated border patrol lane. Elon Musk’s electric car company, which recently relocated its headquarters from Fremont, California, to Austin, has struck a deal with the “pro-business” Mexican state to grant express access to Tesla and its suppliers at the Colombia Solidarity checkpoint. , reports Bloomberg.
However, the US Customs and Border Protection has not given Tesla such an exemption, an agency spokesperson said, so it appears the easy access is only one way for now.
“For commercial trucks heading north at the Colombia-Solidarity Bridge, there are currently only the regular freight lanes and the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) lane, which is exclusively for companies registered in the CBP-Trade Partnership against Terrorism. (C-TPAT) program,” Rick Pauza, public affairs officer for US Customs and Border Protection, told sure naira. “There is no separate, dedicated lane for Tesla or a specific company.”
Nuevo León is home to at least six Tesla suppliers, including APG Mexico and Taiwan-based EnFlex Corp. and QuantaComputer. Ivan Rivas, the region’s economy minister, told Bloomberg that Nuevo León is becoming a “hub for electromobility” and that he expects the EV industry to contribute between 5% and 7% of the global economy this year. investments in the state.
Rivas, who did not negotiate the deal, also told Bloomberg that the region had an economic incentive to play with Tesla, and may hope to make similar deals in the future with other companies, likely companies that will also position suppliers in Nuevo. Leon.
The Colombia-Solidarity crossing is not one of Mexico’s most popular border crossings, where the highest average waiting time takes 26 minutes. The Nuevo León border authority is expanding the border crossing in Colombia from six to eight lanes.
The dedicated lane — which is only for the company and suppliers, not Tesla owners — can be found at a remote border crossing a few miles north of Laredo, Texas. A green highway sign that reads “TESLA” and written in the company’s iconic font is nestled between one lane for cars and another for empty trucks or buses.
sure naira spoke to four different border patrol and customs officers along the Texas-Mexico border and two from the California-Mexico border — all of whom say it’s unusual to see one company having special access to a lane.
Tesla couldn’t be reached since it dissolved its news agency, so it’s unclear if the automaker gave anything to Nuevo León in exchange for the special job, but it’s possible the region just wanted to house Musk’s company for bringing industry and possibly jobs.
