Doncaster MP calls on billionaire businessman Elon Musk to open factory in town

The Tesla and SpaceX boss touched down at Doncaster Sheffield Airport earlier this year – and Don Valley Conservative MP Nick Fletcher has called on the Goverment to enter into talks with one of the world’s richest men to bring a battery making plant to the town.

In the House of Commons yesterday, Mr Fletcher, who earlier revealed that he owns a Tesla vehicle, asked Business and Industry Minister Nadhim Zahawi: “Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, recently landed at Doncaster Sheffield Airport and he’s seen the land ready for development.

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"Will the minister work with me to put a case forward for this automative giant to build the next gigafactory in Don Valley?”

Gigafactories are the names given to Musk’s battery assembly plants where equipment is produced for Tesla’s electric vehicles.

According to Musk, one hundred factories across the world are necessary to push the world to complete sustainable energy consumption.

In response, Mr Zahawi said: “I am very keen to secure battery manufacturing capability in the UK and I am very supportive of discussions with potential investors about requirements.

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"We are currently calling on industry to put forward investment proposals for gigafactories.”

Believed to be the fifth richest person in the world, Musk landed at Doncaster Sheffield Airport in his private jet en route to a string of business meetings in Germany on August 30 after a nine hour flight from Los Angeles.

The plane is then understood to have taken off from Doncaster the following day en route to Europe.

It is not known if Musk left the airport during his stopover in Doncaster or how long he spent in the town.

The 49-year-old businessman is the founder and boss of space travel and space exploration company SpaceX and also behind electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla.

In 2018, he was ranked 25th on the Forbes list of The World's Most Powerful People and earlier this month, his net worth was estimated by Forbes to be US$93.3 billion.