Gary Zhou 
Key Points
- 🇮🇩 Tesla plans significant investment in Indonesia for a battery materials plant.
- 📅 In April 2022, Tesla discussed a deal for nickel with Indonesian officials.
- 💼 A recent meeting between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Senior Minister Luhut Pandjaitan focused on Indonesia’s economic development and Tesla’s condition.
- 🚗 Tesla aims to build a battery materials plant, not a vehicle production facility, in Indonesia.
- 💰 The investment in battery material manufacturing is expected to be substantial.
- 🌐 Starlink is planned to benefit Indonesia with improved healthcare and education infrastructure.
Tesla Plans Significant Investment in Indonesia for Battery Factory, Says Senior Minister According to Indonesia’s Senior Minister, Luhut Pandjaitan, who shared details on Instagram after a meeting with CEO Elon Musk, Tesla is exploring the possibility of making a substantial investment in Indonesia for the construction of a battery factory. In April 2022, Tesla engaged in discussions with Indonesian officials regarding a potential agreement involving nickel, a crucial material for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. During the meeting, Tesla and Elon Musk hosted Luhut Pandjaitan, along with Rosan Roeslani, the Indonesian Ambassador to the United States, and Anindya Bakrie, the general chair of the Advisory Council of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
It appears another meeting took place today, but this time in San Francisco:
“One year later after meeting at Tesla’s Giga Factory in Austin, Texas, I met Elon Musk again in San Francisco, United States. This meeting became the main agenda of my visit to Uncle Sam’s country. For about two and a half hours we discussed Indonesia’s economic development, as well as the current condition of Tesla, Inc.”
Musk and Tesla detailed that a vehicle production facility does not seem to be in the cards for Indonesia, just a battery materials plant. However, some of the things Pandjaitan said seem to indicate Tesla is suspending any investment currently.
Reuters reported that Luhut said, “He wants to invest in the manufacturing of materials for lithium batteries” and that “the investment will be quite big.”
The Minister said that Tesla “turns out to be currently suspending investment in any country. There are two things that cause it, namely; overproduction and the current unfavorable global economic conditions.”
There are also plans to bring Starlink to Eastern Indonesia:
“I convey that the benefits arising from Starlink operating in Indonesia are enormous, for example; Health infrastructure such as internet access at health centers in remote areas can help health workers report health facility data in real time. In addition, education services will also be accessible to students in eastern Indonesia so that we can achieve equal and equitable access to education in Indonesia.”
