Minister Bahlil Tight-lipped over Tesla Investment Latest Update
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13 January 2023 15:08 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia’s Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia refused to comment on the latest news regarding Tesla’s investment plan in the country. He handed over the matter to Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Panjdaitan.
“Please ask Coordinating Minister (Luhut), because we have split tasks. Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment knows best,” Bahlil said after a meeting on electric vehicles with President Joko Jokowi Widodo at Jakarta State Palace, Friday, January 13, 2022.
According to Bahlil, the investment affairs of the US-based automaker are handled by Luhut, while he was tasked with managing Foxconn's investment.
News of Tesla going to build production facilities in Indonesia has again emerged. Bloomberg, as quoted from Reuters, reported that the firm belonging to Elon Musk would soon sign a deal to build a factory with a capacity of one million units. The report, however, did not mention the source.
This immediately caught Elon Musk’s attention. Via his Twitter account on Thursday, he said media must be careful in citing "unnamed sources".
“Please be cautious about writing articles citing 'unnamed sources', as they are frequently false,” Elon tweeted on Thursday, January 12, 2023.
Meanwhile, Luhut said negotiations with Tesla are still ongoing but refused to disclose detailed information to maintain the confidentiality of the agreement. Tesla also declined to respond to Reuters’ request for confirmation.
The latest report by Reuters suggested that Tesla's talks with the Indonesian government include plans for production facilities and to facilitate the company's supply chain. Tesla had also signed a deal worth around US$5 billion to purchase battery materials from a nickel processing company in Indonesia.
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