Tesla in Oshawa is possible given political will

The closing of the GM plant is a huge blow. One only needs to look at Brantford in the 1980s to see the devastation that can be caused when the cornerstone of the economy leaves. Brantford worked hard to attract many new businesses and a university campus. It has finally been recovering in the last decade. The plant closure is a desperate situation for Oshawa, Durham and Ontario, and the premier has already accepted the plant cannot be saved, that GM is gone.

Elon Musk has provided a glimmer of hope. After the financial crisis, Tesla acquired a closed GM/Toyota factory in high cost California and it is the only factory that makes Teslas. However, production is outgrowing that factory fast and Mr. Musk has said he would be interested in the factories GM is closing.

It behooves every politician who has commented on the plant closure and offered their support to do everything they can to attract Tesla to Oshawa. One idea is to offer to reinstate the provincial electric car tax credit and initiate a federal tax credit to ensure there is a large domestic market for Teslas made in Oshawa. This would also help to achieve climate change goals. There has been dismissiveness of the prospect of Tesla being interested in the Oshawa plant. However, Mr. Musk has a strong connection to Canada, and a bigthinking politician may be able to appeal to his logic and save Oshawa's economy. All it takes to get started is a tweet @elonmusk. There is nothing left to lose, and everything to gain.

PS. My first car was an Oshawa-built Camaro; I dream that my next car will be an Oshawa-built Tesla. Daniel de Young, Brantford