Local news reports say that Tesla has agreed to invest in a battery and electric car manufacturing in Indonesia.
U.S. electric car maker Tesla has agreed to invest in battery and EV manufacturing in Indonesia, according to Indonesia’s Head of Investments.
On Wednesday, Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said, “God willing; Tesla will enter Indonesia this year,” clarifying that nothing has been signed yet.
“But I can’t announce the month yet. Let’s wait, because we haven’t signed an agreement yet. How much investment is still being kept secret, still waiting. But this is good stuff, big stuff,” he added.
According to a local news report, “Tesla agreed to build a battery and electric vehicle plant at an industrial complex in Central Java province.”
The comment came after Indonesia’s President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo visited Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Texas last week.
During Pres. Jokowi Texas visit last week, he had discussions with Musk over a potential Nickel investment in Indonesia and other technology sharing prospects.
Musk, on his side, said that he is ‘fired up’ and is ‘very excited about the future of Indonesia.’ He also thinks that the country has tremendous potential.
“I think we are going to look closely from a Tesla and SpaceX standpoint to try to do some partnerships in Indonesia.” Musk added.
Last month, Musk was already visited by Indonesian delegates. Jakarta has also been trying to lure Tesla for a few years now, as Jakarta also targets a goal that by 2025, 20% of cars made in Indonesia will be electric vehicles.
Musk said earlier that Tesla aims to announce the next locations of its factories by the end of the year, and right now, it is still not yet confirmed if it will be located in Indonesia, since nothing has been signed yet.
Indonesia is currently the world’s largest nickel producer. In 2020, it produced an estimated one million metric tons of nickel. Nickel is a critical material used in producing electric vehicle batteries.
