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Jokowi plans to meet Elon Musk over nickel
Tesla representatives were currently in Indonesia and due to visit the nickel production hub of Morawali on Sulawesi island.
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President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo speaks to the World Economic Forum via video link from the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, on Jan. 20, 2022. (Courtesy of State Secretariat/-)
P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is planning to meet Tesla CEO Elon Musk during an upcoming United States visit, a minister said on Monday, as the Southeast Asian country seeks to accelerate development of its nickel industry to supply batteries for electric vehicles.
Representatives of Musk's EV maker Tesla Inc were currently in Indonesia and due to visit the nickel production hub of Morawali on Sulawesi island, Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said.
"They will visit Morowali... They are very satisfied with the data they have received so far," Luhut told a streamed media briefing.
In an Instagram post after meeting Musk in Texas in April, Luhut had said he hoped for "discussions regarding the progress of Indonesia’s nickel industry development, which is high-tech, which can bring our country into the global supply chain of the electric vehicle industry."
Jokowi is due to travel to the US this week for a summit of Southeast Asian leaders in Washington.
Asked about a meeting between Jokowi and Musk, Luhut said "we're arranging where the meeting will be."
Tesla did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Indonesia is keen to develop a full domestic supply chain for nickel, especially for extracting battery chemicals, making batteries and eventually building EVs.
Southeast Asia's biggest economy has struck multi-billion dollar deals with South Korean and Chinese companies to take advantage of its nickel resources and has been trying to woo Tesla for some time. read more
Brazilian miner Vale last week signed a long-term deal with Tesla to supply nickel from its Canadian operations. Vale also has nickel operations in Indonesia.
