Gary Zhou 
Key Points
- 🇲🇾 Malaysia’s Prime Minister assured Elon Musk that Tesla and Starlink wouldn’t face bureaucratic obstacles when entering the country.
- 🚗 Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been negotiating with several Asian countries, and only Malaysia has finalized agreements for Tesla and SpaceX services, including Starlink.
- 📝 Prime Minister Anwar expressed his commitment to facilitating change and development in Malaysia and reassured Musk about avoiding bureaucratic hassles.
- 🚗 Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry approved Tesla’s application to import battery electric vehicles (BEV) in February 2023, leading to successful BEV sales and 10,000 Model Y orders shortly after.
- 🌐 Malaysia also issued a license to SpaceX for Starlink internet in remote areas of the country after discussions with Prime Minister Anwar.
- 🇨🇳 In a separate development, Tesla China’s Model Y Long Range delivery estimates have extended to 6 to 8 weeks after price cuts, with various options and price changes mentioned.
- 🚀 Tesla’s price cuts and competition in the Chinese car market are impacting local competitors like Volkswagen SAIC, BYD, and Xpeng.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told Elon Musk he did not need to worry about nitty-gritty bureaucratic encumbrances if Tesla or Starlink entered the country.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been negotiating with several Asia over the past year, including India, Indonesia, South Korea, and Malaysia. Among the list of countries Musk has visited and dealt with, only Malaysia has recently finalized agreements with Tesla and SpaceX for Starlink services.
During an interview with Fortune, Prime Minister Anwar explained his ideology behind winning over Elon Musk.
“As much as I know about [Elon Musk], he knows a bit about me. So I said, ‘Look, I’ve suffered immensely in the past. Now, I’ve been given this opportunity. I’m in business. I want to effect the change, and I want to do whatever is necessary. I love my country, and I think it has huge potential and capacity.’
“And I made it clear and blunt to [Elon Musk] to say that he does not need to worry about all the other nitty-gritty, bureaucratic encumbrances that he may face in dealing with some other countries,” Malaysia’s Prime Minister said.
Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) approved Tesla’s application to import battery electric vehicles (BEV) in February 2023. By July 2023, Tesla launched the official Instagram page for its Malaysia branch and kicked off BEV sales in the country a few weeks later. Four days after Tesla started sales in Malaysia, it secured 10,000 Model Y orders.
Shortly after Tesla Malaysia launched BEV sales in the country, Prime Minister Anwar discussed the possibility of bringing SpaceX’s Starlink internet service into the country. A week after the Prime Minister brought up the idea, Malaysia issued a license to SpaceX for Starlink internet in remote areas of the country.
