Tesla, an electric car manufacturer from the United States, has signed contracts worth US$5 billion to buy nickel-based products from a number of Indonesian companies, a senior cabinet minister told to local media
Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said that although negotiations with Tesla to build a factory in Indonesia were still ongoing, Elon Musk’s company had agreed to buy nickel products from national companies.
“We are still in constant negotiation with Tesla … but they have started buying two excellent products from Indonesia,” said Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan
Luhut said Tesla had signed five-year contracts with several nickel processing companies in Morowali, Central Sulawesi. The nickel products will be used in the manufacture of Tesla’s lithium battery.
The Indonesian government is currently keen to invite producers of the electric vehicle ecosystem to invest in Indonesia. Currently, several world companies, such as LG and Hyundai, have invested in the electric car battery sector in Indonesia.
Tesla on the other hand has not confirmed Luhut’s claim. The company has also not said much about its plans to build production facilities in Indonesia, even though President Joko Widodo met with Musk in the US last May.
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