Indonesia’s Widodo meets Tesla’s Elon Musk to push for battery investment

The president, who met the billionaire in Texas, also invited him to the November G20 meeting in Bali

Indonesia for years has been trying to woo Tesla to invest in the country’s nickel-based EV industry

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo with Tesla boss Elon Musk in Texas on Saturday. Photo: Twitter

Published: 12:30pm, 15 May 2022

Indonesian President Joko Widodo met Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk on Saturday in Texas to discuss potential investments and technology, the government said in a statement.

The meeting between Musk and Widodo, better known as Jokowi, came after a round of working-level discussions on a potential investment in Indonesia’s nickel industry and supply of batteries for electric vehicles, Indonesian officials said.

Representatives from Tesla were in Indonesia last week for meetings regarding a potential battery-related investment, Indonesian officials and two people familiar with the talks have said.

Tesla had no immediate comment.

Indonesia for years has been trying to secure a deal with Tesla on battery investment and potentially for Musk’s SpaceX aerospace company.

Jokowi travelled from Washington, where he attended a meeting of leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), to meet Musk at the SpaceX launch site in Boca Chica, Texas. He invited the billionaire to visit Indonesia in November.