Tesla is rumored to be working on a battery factory in Indonesia, local official says

Tesla is rumored to be working on some sort of battery factory in Indonesia, according to comments made by a local official.

Local news in Indonesia is reporting that the country’s Maritime Affairs Coordinating Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan is stating that Tesla is amongst several companies looking to build battery manufacturing facilities in Indonesia’s Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) in Central Sulawesi.

Antara News reported (in a poorly translated article):

“CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology) is the one that entered Morowali, then it and LG were the major players. Tesla also joined it, but how much, I did not know… I do not know about Tesla’s role, as their consortium is the one regulating it,”

CATL, the largest battery manufacturer for electric vehicles in China, is apparently in the most advanced stages of the project, but LG and Tesla are also involved, according to the official.

Pandjaitan added:

“Maybe (if it is completed) in the next three years. My batteries in the next three years would have become better, maybe faster. I think it must be the biggest because we are all, and our costs are cheaper because of the costs,”

He is talking about a consortium of companies that would develop a major battery factory for electric vehicles.

According to the official, the details are still being finalized and they are waiting for the president to sign a presidential decree that will enact significant tax incentives for businesses related to electric vehicles and a reduction in import duties.

Tesla has yet to confirm the source of battery cells for its Gigafactory 3 in China and recently, the automaker hinted that it plans to produce its own battery cells.

We reached out to Tesla about the report coming out of Indonesia and we will update if we get an answer.

Electrek’s Take

I don’t know what to think about this report. It all makes sense. Tesla could definitely use some battery cell production in Asia and partnering with producers would make sense.

However, it could also simply be a politician getting ahead of himself and talking about possible investments in his country before anything is concrete.

Time will tell.