(Bloomberg) -- Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc.’s Elon Musk appears to be on his way to Berlin before the electric-car maker hosts the front-runner to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor.
A day after Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union announced Armin Laschet, the party’s chairman, will pay Tesla’s unfinished car and battery factory a visit on Aug. 13, Musk’s jet took off Wednesday from Tuscany, Italy, and is headed for the German capital, according to a Twitter account that tracks the movement of his plane.
CDU officials said they are not aware of a possible Musk appearance. A representative for Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Germany’s next chancellor will come under pressure to accelerate the pace of technological progress to ensure Europe’s biggest economy modernizes and remains competitive in the digital age. While the country scored a major victory when Musk announced plans to construct a plant in Gruenheide, the project has fallen months behind schedule, with Tesla bemoaning an “irritating” process of obtaining regulatory approvals.
Although still the election front-runner, Laschet and the conservative bloc have had a rocky few weeks. The CDU’s lead over the Greens has shrunk in recent polls.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
