According to a senior cabinet official, American automaker Tesla has agreements worth roughly $5 billion with Indonesian nickel processing firms to purchase components for their batteries.
The largest economy in Southeast Asia has been attempting to persuade Tesla to locate a production site in its vast nickel reserves. To encourage investment, President Joko Widodo met with Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, earlier this year.
The Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs, Luhut Pandjaitan, stated in an interview that was aired on Monday that “We are currently in ongoing negotiation with Tesla… but they have started buying two fantastic items from Indonesia.”
He said that Tesla entered into a five-year agreement with nickel processing businesses based in Morowali on the island of Sulawesi. The lithium batteries made by Tesla will utilize nickel components.
An email from Reuters requesting comment was not immediately answered by Tesla.
In order to ensure supply for investors, Indonesia banned exporting nickel ore. The country is eager to domestically develop the electric car and battery businesses. Chinese steel goliaths and South Korean firms like LG and Hyundai invested as a result of the decision.
However, the majority of nickel investments made thus far have gone toward producing raw metals like ferronickel and nickel pig iron.
According to a senior source who spoke to Reuters last week, the government intends to impose an export tax on certain metals in order to increase income and promote more domestic manufacturing of higher-value goods.
