Do it Elon. (He missed a trick with Tesla in Indonesia)
From the Wall Street Journal, December 17:
The country plans to pitch business opportunities, including data centers
NUSA DUA, Indonesia—Indonesia plans to pitch business opportunities, including data centers, to Elon Musk, although he previously declined a proposal to build an electric-vehicle battery factory in the country, a government adviser said.
Musk, the world’s richest man and an adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, struck a $5 billion deal in 2022 for his car company, Tesla, to purchase nickel from Indonesia. The country holds the world’s largest reserves of nickel, a key component in electric-vehicle batteries.
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, chairman of Indonesia’s National Economic Council, said he suggested the battery-factory idea to Musk, but was turned down due to Indonesia’s distance from Tesla’s car factories.
“We offered this, but at the time, they had their own idea that they’re going to do it in the U.S.,” Luhut said in an interview. “But I understand also because it’s very close to the factory” for Tesla vehicles, he said.
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Luhut said he would continue pitching business opportunities in the coming months, including the possibility of building data centers for xAI, Musk’s artificial-intelligence company.
In recent years, Indonesia, the world’s fourth most-populous nation, has strengthened its ties with Musk through Luhut, a senior leader in the previous administration and now an adviser to Indonesia’s new president, Prabowo Subianto.
“We are friends,” Luhut said of his relationship with Musk.
Luhut said he last spoke to Musk about two weeks ago in a 10-minute Zoom call, during which he congratulated Musk on helping Trump win the election and on Musk’s new role leading the Department of Government Efficiency, an initiative aimed at cutting federal spending and regulations.
“Welcome to the big headache,” Luhut recalled joking. He added that he told Musk that government advisers, unlike corporate chief chiefs, “cannot make a decision alone.”....
....MORE
Previously on Musk and Indonesia, the 2023 series:
February 2023
Indonesia's President Jokowi ‘confident’ Tesla Will Invest (TSLA)
August 1, 2023
"Indonesia's new capital aims to be 'economic growth center'"
August 12, 2023
"Musk still mulling massive Tesla plant for Indonesia"
As
well he should. Indonesia as both a raw material supplier and
value-chain extender is a win for Tesla and a win for Indonesia. Throw
in the benefits of a developing market for the end product and Tesla
would be foolish to only build the Malaysian plant.
As we've
tried to emphasize for the last couple years, resource nationalism is
real and the desire of resource-rich countries to be left with something
more than a hole in the ground for their efforts is the story of this
decade and beyond....
September 2023
"Tesla Unlikely to Pursue Indonesia Plant Soon, Panjaitan Says"
This decision has been terribly mis-handled by Tesla management and Tesla's communications peeps....
Previously on Indonesia:
- "As Supply Chains Shift, Indonesia Should Get a Serious Look".
- "Tesla Supplier CATL To Invest $6 Billion In Indonesia Battery Project"
- Indonesia’s PT Vale, China Firm Sign $2bn Nickel Plant Deal
- UAE Makes A Big Bet On Indonesia
And very related:
- "Get ready for a new wave of resource nationalism"
- Copper: "Peru's natural resources:—CIA-linked US ambassador meets with mining and energy ministers to talk 'investments'"
- "Rio Tinto–backed firm InoBat plans to build battery gigafactory in Serbia"....Although the story of why the deposit has not been mined is complicated (see links in intro if interested), one thing is certain, these resource-rich little countries want to be left with something much higher up the value chain than just a hole in the ground.
And more recently:
October 5, 2023
"Oz-Indonesia tie-up could break China’s EV battery supremacy"
November 5, 2024
Jakarta Who? Indonesia's New Capital, Nusantara, Will Be A Tech Hub
