Athens, February 26th 2018
Announcement of Alt. Minister Costas Fotakis regarding Tesla
A goal of the research policy of the Research and Innovation Sector of the Ministry is to attract R & D departments of high-tech companies in Greece. The recent establishment of Tesla Greece, which will focus on R & D activities first, falls within this objective and marks the beginning of a new type of investment in the country. Investments which are based on Research, Innovation and Knowledge Intensity.
The effective co-operation with the Ministry Economy and Development contributed to the success of this project.
The importance of this is multifaceted and significant:
It is a tangible sign of confidence in the development process of the country and the economic environment configured for the post-bailout era after August 2018.
Also, as Tesla executives have pointed out, a key motivation for the choice of Greece was the excellent scientific potential that exists in the country. These are the Greek engineers and technicians who graduate from the Greek public universities. This proves the quality of the education and training they offer which, unfortunately, some people insist on ignoring in their attempt to discredit them.
The establishment of a Tesla R & D Department in Greece is accompanied by the return of Greek scientists who are executives in this company and, of course, by opening up prospects for the employment of others who will thus remain in Greece. This contributes to reverse the brain drain of highly skilled scientists.
Moreover, the presence of Tesla Greece is expected to be a catalyst for other investment initiatives in high technology sectors, even at the production level. It should be noted that the establishment of a company with the international scope that Tesla has in the Technological Park of the Research Center "Demokritos" has already prompted the interest of other innovative companies to settle there with obvious benefits to create quality jobs and to reinforce the Research which is conducted.
It should be stressed that synergies between foreign and Greek companies, that focus on "knowledge-intensive" activities, innovate and promote the new production model that the Government has shaped for the country and is based on the Knowledge Economy.
