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Malaysia
This Week in AsiaEconomics

Thailand, Malaysia’s Tesla hopes fade as Elon Musk appears to go cold on Asean

  • The reported scrapping of a Southeast Asian Tesla factory could boost tariff-squeezed Chinese EV brands seeking new markets

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Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla, at the US Capitol on July 24, 2024. Photo: Bloomberg
Hadi Azmi
Hopes Tesla may plough billions of dollars into Southeast Asian “gigafactories” have receded after months of courting of the Elon Musk-led electric car brand by Thailand and Malaysia.
Both Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim have held talks with Musk, with the world’s richest man last year telling the Malaysian leader that he has followed the premier’s journey through politics and wanted to bring Tesla, alongside his other businesses, to the country.

But as rumblings circulated that the American carmaker had scrapped its plan for a factory in Malaysia – as well as Thailand and Indonesia – Malaysian Trade Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said on Thursday that efforts to woo Tesla had not been “a waste of time”.

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“Indeed, we held discussions with Elon Musk in an effort to attract investment, but Tesla never made a commitment to open a factory here,” Tengku Zafrul wrote on X.

Anwar said intense competition from Chinese rivals influenced Tesla’s decision.

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“[Trade Minister] Tengku Zafrul received the latest information saying that it is because [Tesla] is experiencing losses due to stiff competition from Chinese EVs,” the prime minister told reporters on Friday after the company briefed his administration.

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