Tesla will ship a workforce of representatives to Indonesia in January to scout the potential of establishing a provide chain partnership, the nation’s authorities stated in an announcement on Saturday.
The assembly will observe up on a earlier dialogue that the nation’s delegates had with Tesla officers in mid-November, the place the possibility of battery facility deals and EV materials sourcing was mentioned.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo despatched delegates to satisfy with Tesla for the November meeting in an try to have the world’s main EV model supply a few of its supplies from the nation. Widodo, who is healthier recognized by his nickname Jokowi, has been hyping up its nickel reserves. Final month, the President stated to Reuters that “it’s crucial as a result of we’ve got an amazing plan to make Indonesia the most important producer of lithium batteries, and we’ve got the most important nickel (reserves).”
Nickel is a key materials within the manufacturing of electrical automobile batteries, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been vocal about his firm’s want for a large-scale supply of the metallic.
Throughout Tesla’s Q2 Earnings Name in July, Musk acknowledged that Tesla would have a “large contract for an extended time period” for any entity that might provide the electrical automaker with a ample quantity of the metallic. Jokowi appears curious about being the entity that may provide Tesla with nickel for future battery cells, and a partnership may very well be imminent.
Tesla’s Elon Musk calls on nickel miners amidst massive battery push
In line with a brand new report from Reuters, Musk was on a name with President Widodo and Luhut Pandjaitan, the Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Funding, discussing “funding alternatives from electrical autos firm Tesla in Indonesia,” the Ministry stated.
The assembly is about to happen after the brand new yr, as Tesla is presently specializing in a number of significant duties. These embrace an intense end-of-year manufacturing and supply push and a halt within the Mannequin S and Mannequin X manufacturing strains. Tesla’s focus shifting ahead can be to chop the price of batteries, which it outlined in an occasion in September generally known as Battery Day. With a view to lower the price of electrical automobile battery manufacturing and the price of EVs generally, Tesla has been centered on the sourcing of its supplies in an try to supply its personal battery cells. This could alleviate the necessity to buy them from third-party suppliers and finally result in a decrease product value. Tesla plans to supply a $25,000 automotive throughout the subsequent three years and can doubtless proceed trying to decrease the price of its already current fleet of autos.