Indonesia says Tesla (TSLA) will invest in new battery facility

Following years of active courting, Indonesia revealed Monday that electric carmaker, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) will invest in the manufacturing of battery materials in the country.

Senior Minister Luhut Pandjaitan revealed through a post on Instagram, that he headed an Indonesian delegation that engaged in discussions with Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, during a recent visit to San Francisco. During this meeting, Musk informed Luhut about the upcoming investment plan.

"He wants to invest in the manufacturing of materials for lithium batteries," Luhut said.

Luhut expects Tesla to make an announcement regarding the investment in the next few months.

"The investment will be quite big. Let's wait for Elon to come here around the end of September or October this year."

Although there are currently no plans for the electric vehicle giant to begin building cars in the southeast Asian country, Luhut did note that Musk’s satellite communications service, Starlink will also be bringing internet to some remote corners of Indonesia.

Last week, Indonesia announced an extension of the time limit for automakers to meet the eligibility criteria for electric vehicle incentives by two years in an attempt to entice additional investments, as Indonesia competes with Thailand and India in the race to establish a robust EV sector.

Shares of TSLA are down 2.79% in pre-market trading Monday.

By Michael Elkins | [email protected]

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