Elon Musk says Tesla 'would be interested' in taking over General Motors' idled factories (TSLA)

Elon Musk and Tesla will be subjects in a "60 Minutes" episode this weekend.
Ahead of its airing, CBS released two teasers from its interview with the billionaire CEO.
Musk told the network he may be interested in taking over any plants idled by struggling automakers like General Motors.

After turning its second-ever quarterly profit, Tesla has its eyes on expansion.

Earlier this week, Reuters reported the company had begun the construction process on its first "Gigafactory" outside the US in China.

Meanwhile, CEO Elon Musk told CBS' "60 Minutes" in an interview that Tesla would be open to activating plants idled by automakers like General Motors, which last month announced it would stop building cars at three factories in North America.

"It's possible that we would be interested, if they were going to sell a plant or not use it, that we would take it over," he told reporter Lesley Stahl in a preview released by the network ahead of the episode's broadcast on Sunday.

As Business Insider's Matthew DeBord pointed out, Tesla's single factory in Fremont, California, is incredibly far from the US auto-manufacturing hubs near Detroit and southern states, like Tennessee, where foreign companies have established plants.

A manufacturing presence closer to other factories could help with infrastructure, equipment, and expertise.

"The whole point of Tesla is to accelerate the advancement of electric vehicles and sustainable transport," Musk added in the interview. "We're trying to help the environment; it's the most serious problem that humanity faces."

The full interview will air Sunday evening on CBS.