Tesla ready to open a series of factories in Indonesia
Indonesia. And most importantly, nickel. Here are the two words that distinguish Elon Musk’s new projects. The patron of Twitter and Tesla he has made up his mind to launch a new monumental project in South-East Asia linked to electric cars. A way also to diversify the Asian presence with respect to China, where Musk’s creature has recently had some difficulties between slowing down in demand, lowering prices and failing to achieve sales targets.
Tesla is in fact close to signing a preliminary agreement for the creation of a factory in Indonesia, according to Bloomberg. The plant would produce up to 1 million cars a year, in line with Tesla’s ambition to have all of its plants globally reach that capacity. But the plan is even broader: Discussions include plans to build more plants across the country, with different functions in manufacturing and the supply chain, one of the people said.
The negotiations in an advanced state were also confirmed by the Indonesian government: Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said that the talks with Tesla are conducted by the coordination ministry for maritime affairs and investments. This is not a bolt from the blue. Indonesia has a long-standing court for Tesla and last year inked a $5 billion nickel supply deal with the automaker.
All shortly after a high-level meeting between Musk and Indonesian President Joko Widodo directly took place, which seeks to attract international investments also with a view to developing its colossal project for a new capital in Nusuntara, away from Jakarta. Widodo himself said the country wants Tesla to make electric cars in Indonesia, not just batteries, and is willing to take the time to persuade Musk to see Indonesia as more than just a supplier of key resources.
Subscribe to the newsletter
