Elon Musk still in talks for Tesla to invest in Indonesia, claims President
- Elon Musk has been bullish in his views of Indonesia but while talks for a Tesla investment have been on for quite some time, nothing much has officially come out.
Indonesia President Joko Widodo has said that talks with Elon Musk are still on about the possibility of Tesla investing in his country. Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has been hunting new markets across the world as his company looks to establish more production facilities and compete in developing economies.
In an interview to Bloomberg, Widodo reportedly said that talks for a possible Tesla investment in Indonesia are continuing. Musk has been keen on investing in Indonesia for quite some time now and while talks have been continuing, not much has come off it so far.
Also check these Vehicles
82kWh
555 km
One of the key stumbling blocks highlighted is that Indonesia is currently not big on electric vehicles (EVs) and does not boast of a mammoth charging-related infrastructure either. While it has attempted to woo foreign carmakers by announcing subsidies on battery-powered vehicles - for manufacturing as well as purchase, it may not be an ideal site for scale. Not yet anyway.
Some past reports have even suggested that Malaysia may suit Tesla far more than neighbouring Indonesia. Or other Asian markets entirely. Musk has been in Indonesia but he has also been to India in the past. The world's third largest vehicle market has been eyed by the world's richest person but high import tax has been a stumbling block for a potential India entry. New Delhi wants Tesla to manufacture locally, or at least assure on a timeline for local production in order to gain a discount on import tax rate.
Whether Indonesia, Malaysia, India or any other market, Tesla has a clear-cut policy of expansion as it looks to extend its lead over rivals. The US-based EV giant has a stated objective of manufacturing 20 million EVs by 2030 which, many say, is an extremely ambitious target, even by Tesla's lofty standards. And for this, Tesla may just have to tap into newer markets and potentially offer more affordable models too.
Check out Upcoming EV Cars in India, Upcoming EV Bikes in India.
Editor's Pick
Trending this Week
