Electric vehicle giant Tesla reportedly plans to establish a new battery production plant in Indonesia. The news came from Senior Minister Luhut Pandjaitan’s Instagram post that revealed a recent meeting with CEO Elon Musk.
In retrospect, the world’s most valuable automaker started negotiations on nickel with the Indonesian Government in April 2022. The meeting involved the Tesla Chief himself, Senior Minister Pandjaitan, Indonesian Ambassador to the US Rosan Roeslani, and Advisory Council of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry General Chair Anindya Bakrie.
As the Senior Minister’s social media announcement indicated, he flew to San Francisco to meet the Tesla boss to discuss potential investments.
“One year later after meeting at Tesla’s Giga Factory in Austin, Texas, I met Elon Musk again in San Francisco, United States. This meeting became the main agenda of my visit to Uncle Sam’s country. For about two and a half hours we discussed Indonesia’s economic development, as well as the current condition of Tesla, Inc.”
Senior Minister Luhut Pandjaitan (Translated in English)
https://twitter.com/MaltepesReport/status/1691101751867277312Meeting highlights
CEO Elon Musk and the automaker confirmed no current plans to erect a new EV factory in Indonesia. However, it revealed plans to build a battery materials production plant there.
Interestingly, some statements from the Senior Minister suggest that the company is currently “suspending” any kinds of investments.
According to a Reuters report, CEO Musk aims to invest in lithium battery materials production in the country. It further noted that “the investment will be quite big.”
However, the Senior Minister stated that Tesla has discontinued pursuing any investments due to two factors.
“[Tesla] turns out to be currently suspending investment in any country. There are two things that cause it, namely, overproduction and the current unfavorable global economic conditions.”
Senior Minister Luhut Pandjaitan (Translated in English)
Nonetheless, the two relevant men in the global industry discussed potential partnerships in the future. It included CEO Musk’s other venture, Starlink.
“I convey that the benefits arising from Starlink operating in Indonesia are enormous, for example; Health infrastructure such as internet access at health centers in remote areas can help health workers report health facility data in real time. In addition, education services will also be accessible to students in eastern Indonesia so that we can achieve equal and equitable access to education in Indonesia.“
Senior Minister Luhut Pandjaitan (Translated in English)
See Also:
- Indonesia to launch new set of incentives for electric automakers, organizes a meeting with Tesla and BYD
- Tesla, BYD to invest in EV production plants in Indonesia
- BYD to establish an EV production plant in Europe
- Indonesia cuts EV tax, boosting sales for Hyundai and Wuling
- Southeast Asia lags in terms of electric vehicle adoptions
As EV-a2z previously reported, Indonesia houses the world’s largest nickel reserves of 21 million tonnes. That said, it is no wonder why international companies like Tesla are gaining significant interest in the country. A potential domestic battery material factory will undoubtedly enable Tesla to secure a sufficient supply of power batteries to support its production ramp-up across its factories.
