KULIM – US-based electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla should be the one to respond to news reports about the company’s alleged decision to scrap plans for setting up production plants in Southeast Asia, said Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
“You ask Tesla. I don’t work for Tesla,” said the minister when asked by reporters to comment on the news report.
When asked about “what might happen next”, the minister repeated: “I don’t know; you ask Tesla.”
A Thai online news portal, The Nation, which quoted sources, reported that Tesla has abandoned plans to set up an EV factory in the region, with the plans said to have involved Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia as potential locations.
“Tesla is currently only discussing charging stations, with the factory plans suspended worldwide.
“They are not proceeding in Malaysia, Indonesia, or anywhere else except for China, America and Germany,” the source was quoted as saying, claiming that the decision was part of Tesla’s withdrawal of investment across Asia and beyond.
However, it is known that Tesla has not formally committed to building a factory in Malaysia.
In July last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that Malaysia will be part of large-scale investments from Tesla and one of its chief executive Elon Musk’s other high-tech ventures, SpaceX.
Earlier today, a spokesperson from Miti told Scoop that Tesla’s reported move has no bearing on the ministry’s ongoing initiatives.
The spokesperson also said that Tesla’s purported move to focus solely on charging stations in the region, as reported by the Thai news portal on Tuesday, could be the multinational company’s “commercial decision” on its global operations.
“The alleged move does not reflect the industrial reforms and improved investment landscape the ministry and its agencies have worked on since December 2022,” the spokesperson said.
They also highlighted that the foreign report is “not an official statement” from Tesla as it instead quotes an unnamed source, adding: “Confirmation on the report would have to come from Tesla.” – August 8, 2024