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Elon Musk says Tesla may consider buying one of GM's idled plants

In a new 60 Minutes interview, Musk said he welcomed GM's competition in the EV space.

When Elon Musk sits down with an interviewer, something interesting is always bound to come out of the Tesla CEO's mouth, and his forthcoming interview with 60 Minutes is no exception. And no, I'm not referring to him admitting that he has no idea how to smoke weed.

In an interview with Lesley Stahl, Musk said he'd be amenable to picking up one of the plants said it would close as part of its restructuring.

"It's possible that we would be interested … [if a plant came up for sale] that we would take it over," Musk said in quotes released ahead of the full interview. In late November, GM announced that it would idle five plants in North America as part of a massive restructuring that involves layoffs and the discontinuation of multiple sedan and hatchback models. At the same time, GM said it would double its investments in electrification and autonomy.

While the idea of a big player like GM trying to take bigger steps in electrification might rankle some small automakers, Musk isn't bothered. 

"The whole point of Tesla is to accelerate the advent of electric vehicles," Musk said to Stahl. "If somebody comes and makes a better electric car than Tesla and it's so much better than ours that we can't sell our cars and we go bankrupt, I still think that's a good thing for the world."

Musk's full interview with 60 Minutes will air on CBS this Sunday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. (Disclosure: Roadshow is owned by CBS.)

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Andrew Krok Reviews Editor / Cars
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.
Andrew Krok
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.

Article updated on December 7, 2018 at 12:07 PM PST

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Andrew Krok Reviews Editor / Cars
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.
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