Indonesia Pitches EV Battery Plant Plan To Elon Musk

Indonesia’s top investment official said that the government has proposed to Tesla CEO Elon Musk the construction of an electric vehicle battery plant in the nickel-rich country, Firdia Lisnawati and Niniek Karmini reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Tesla CEO Elon Musk met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo while attending a water conference on the island of Bali. I Photo: Presiden Joko Widodo Facebook

The official spoke after Musk met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo while attending a water conference on the island of Bali.

“We made an offer, is it possible to build an EV battery factory, precursor to cathodes, here. And he said he will consider it,” Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan told reporters.

Indonesia is keen to build up industries to exploit its rich natural resources, which include the world’s largest nickel reserves. Nickel is an important material for EV batteries and solar panels.

The billionaire head of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of social platform X was visiting the Indonesian resort island to launch a Starlink satellite internet service there.