Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday that South Korea is among its top candidate locations for a factory it plans to build in Asia to produce electric vehicles (EVs), according to South Korea’s presidential office. Musk said this in a video call with President Yoon Suk-yeol, adding that the company plans to strengthen cooperation with South Korea in the area of supply chains, Yoon’s office said. Since Yoon was aware of Tesla’s plans to build a factory in Asia in the future, his office said Yoon asked Musk to build a factory in South Korea.
In response, Musk said that he considers South Korea to be one of the main candidates and will make a decision after reviewing investment conditions in other countries, including the quality of labor, level of technology and manufacturing infrastructure. Tesla was not immediately available for comment outside US business hours.”We expect to purchase more than $10 billion worth of components from South Korean firms in 2023 as we significantly expand supply chain cooperation with South Korean companies,” Yoon’s office quoted Musk as saying.
The contact between Yoon and Musk comes ahead of the start of a criminal trial in South Korea over questions about the safety of Tesla cars, at a time when the electric car maker faces a series of lawsuits and increased scrutiny from regulators. In the discussion, Yoon said he would reform what Yoon’s office says are excessive regulations that hinder investment by global technology companies. The President added that the government will continue its efforts to attract investment from high-tech companies to increase the country’s competitiveness.
Indonesia, India and other governments are already lobbying to get Tesla’s next electric car investment. In August, Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged Tesla to produce electric cars in the country. The president and senior government officials met with Musk earlier this year, during which they said they asked him to consider the Southeast Asian country as an auto manufacturing hub in addition to battery production. South Korea’s LG Energy Solution Ltd supplies Tesla with batteries, as do Japan’s Panasonic Corp Holding and China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Analysts said if Tesla were to build a factory in the country, it could work closely with such South Korean suppliers as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and LG Innotek Co Ltd.
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