FRANKFURT: Elon Musk picked a glitzy event in Germany, a few hours’ drive from the birthplace of the internal combustion engine, to drop the news before some of the world’s biggest car bosses: Tesla Inc plans to set up shop in their backyard.

The billionaire chief executive officer announced that Tesla would round out its global manufacturing network with a factory near Berlin. At a red-carpet awards ceremony attended by the heads of BMW AG, Volkswagen AG and Audi AG, he said the company would also establish an engineering-and-design centre near the city’s new airport.