Thailand, Indonesia still waiting on Tesla on confirmation of possible factory cancellations

A week after news broke that Tesla might be scrapping its plans to build a factory in Thailand, Malaysia or Indonesia, the respective countries are still waiting on the pre-eminent electric vehicle maker to confirm or deny the rumours, according to Bangkok Post. Thai government spokesperson Chai Wacharonke said the Land of Smiles has yet to hear back from the company regarding its planned investment.

Tesla is reportedly been reevaluating its global investments amidst slowing sales and strong competition, particularly from Chinese rivals. The carmaker has already put construction of its Mexico Gigafactory on hold until after the US elections, after candidate and former president Donald Trump vowed to increase tariffs on cars made in the country.

Instead, the company is focusing on increasing production at its existing facilities in the US, China and Germany, building new and more affordable models. “Tesla is reviewing its investment plans worldwide, not just in Thailand,” said Chai. “However, there has been no confirmation [about halting the investment plan in Thailand] from the company. It’s been reported in the news. We’re waiting to hear from them.”

Tesla’s potential investment in Thailand was first indicated by (now former) prime minister Srettha Thavisin in September, after meeting CEO Elon Musk on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Srettha then visited the company’s Fremont factory in November and allegedly persuaded it to build a factory in Thailand. In March, it was reported that Tesla was in talks with the government about a potential production facility.

Upon news that Tesla might pull its investment out and focus solely on building more charging stations, Srettha said he had no knowledge of the company’s decision, adding that government teams were still in talks with the carmaker about a business plan.

Likewise, Indonesia is still awaiting news about a Tesla EV and battery manufacturing plant in the archipelago, after the two sides signed an agreement in 2022 for the company to source as much as US$5 billion (RM22.1 billion) in nickel from the country. Last year, it was reported that Tesla would make an announcement about a battery factory “in the coming months,” but that trail has since gone cold, too.

For its part, Malaysia’s minister of investment, trade and industry (MITI) Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said that while the government did hold talks to attract investment, Tesla never made a commitment to build a factory. The company has already surpassed the ministry’s requirement to install at least 50 units of DC fast chargers above 180 kW, as outlined in the BEV Global Leaders scheme that Tesla is the only participant in.

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