Indonesian President Joko Widodo told Bloomberg News on Thursday that he wants to build “a huge ecosystem of electric cars” by encouraging US-based EV maker Tesla to manufacture its vehicles and batteries in Indonesia.
In early August, Tesla reportedly signed supply contracts worth about $5 billion for battery materials from nickel processing companies in Indonesia.
A senior cabinet minister told CNBC Indonesia that Tesla has secured a five-year contract with nickel processing companies based in Morowali city in Sulawesi island. The person also confirmed that Tesla would use the nickel materials in its lithium-ion batteries.
In an interview, Jokowi stated that Indonesia’s aim is to create a “huge ecosystem of electric cars,” rather than relying just on its natural resources to produce batteries.
He added that in order to increase revenue, Indonesia was considering placing a tax on nickel exports this year. There has been talk that this could happen as soon as the third quarter.
