Tesla's electric car caught fire outside the city of Niort, killing the driver and three passengers who were employees at a restaurant in nearby Melle.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Snubbed by Tesla, Mexico’s new president pledged Friday to create a Mexican-made small, affordable electric car to compete with vehicles imported from China. President Claudia Sheinbaum said Teslas were too “onerous,” or expensive, for the Mexican market anyway. Tesla’s cheapest car, the Model 3, costs about $30,000.

Claudia Sheinbaum said her government will try to bring together Mexican companies and researchers to produce a “compact, cheap electric car.”