Indonesian President Joko Widodo met with Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk on Saturday in Texas to discuss possible investment and technology, the Indonesian government said in a statement.The meeting between Musk and Widodo, better known as Jokowi, came after a round of high-level discussions about possible investments in the Indonesian nickel industry and the supply of batteries for electric vehicles, Indonesian.
Representatives from Tesla were in Indonesia last week for meetings on possible battery-related investments, Indonesian officials and two people familiar with the talks said. Tesla did not immediately comment. Indonesia has been trying to make a deal with Tesla over a battery investment for years and possibly Musk’s SpaceX company.
Jokowi traveled from Washington, where he attended a meeting of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to meet Musk at the SpaceX launch site in Boca Chica, Texas. He has invited a billionaire to visit Indonesia in November.
20 largest Economic Group
Jokowi will host a conference of the 20 largest Economic Groups in Bali in November. “We hope that in November,” the Indonesian government quoted Musk as saying.Musk said there could be “cooperation in many areas because Indonesia has a lot of power”, the statement said.
Indonesia has the largest nickel depots in the world, and Jokowi is committed to developing a nickel-based EV industry at home – from making nickel metal to producing battery components and assembling electric vehicles. In the past, he has also urged Musk to consider a rocket launch site in Indonesia.Two deals in the past month have given new impetus to Jokowi’s dream of developing an EV-related industry at a time when car manufacturers around the world are trying to acquire battery items and reduce their reliance on China.
A consortium led by South Korea’s LG Energy Solution Ltd, the world’s No. 2 EV battery company, announced plans last month to invest $ 9 billion in Indonesia as part of an agreement that will cover everything from nickel refining to production. battery cells in Indonesia.LG’s main rival, China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology, Tesla supplier, announced Indonesia’s $ 9 billion investment in April.
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