Is Brazil ready for Tesla? And is Tesla ready for Brazil?

Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk, is negotiating with the Brazilian government to build a new plant in Brazil. While negotiations are in their early stages, the truth is that Tesla might need more than tax breaks to gain a footing in the local market. 

After a meeting with U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Bill Popp, Science and Technology Minister Marcos Pontes—alongside congressmen Eduardo Bolsonaro and Daniel Freitas—announced the plan to organize a Brazilian mission to visit the company’s facilities in the U.S.

According to Mr. Freitas’ staff, the visit could happen as early as March and may even include the presence of President Jair Bolsonaro and Economy Minister Paulo Guedes, “strengthening negotiations even further”. 

Mr. Freitas—the author of a bill that aims to zero industrial taxes on producing or importing electric vehicles—has confirmed the information reported earlier by news website NSC Total. Eduardo Bolsonaro also confirmed the news on his Twitter account. 

On February 19, representatives of the Science and Technology Ministry told The Brazilian Report in an emailed statement that Marcos Pontes had met with Daniel Freitas, who “presented the idea to expand the Brazilian market toward electric vehicles, not only to [Tesla] but to everyone interested in investing in this technology in the country”. 

The ministry’s response goes on to say that the company was mentioned as an...