Buy nickel to make batteries? Tesla is negotiating with Indonesia and may build a factory

An Indonesian government official said that the Indonesian government is in early negotiations with the electric car maker Tesla for a potential investment in Indonesia. Indonesia is an important producer of nickel metal. The country is eager to develop a complete supply chain of nickel metal in the country. In particular, it hopes to use this metal to produce batteries and allow Indonesia to eventually become a base for the production of electric vehicles. In order to attract investors to invest in Indonesia's domestic industry, Indonesia has stopped exporting unprocessed nickel ore. AyodhiaKalake, a senior official of the Indonesian Maritime and Investment Coordination Department, said that Tesla has informally contacted the Indonesian government regarding a possible investment. But Karak did not specify the specific details of Tesla's intention. 'This is still an early discussion and has not yet reached the level of specific details.' Karak said in a statement on Monday. 'We need to have further discussions with Tesla.' The Indonesian government's investment in the electric vehicle industry has Many incentives. The above news has not been confirmed by Tesla, which did not respond to requests for comment from the media. Indonesia said last month that it had reached a deal with South Korea’s LG Chem and my country’s CATL to build a lithium-ion battery plant in Indonesia. In order to increase the production of its electric trucks and solar projects, Tesla CEO Elon Musk urged mining companies to produce more nickel earlier this year, claiming that under the conditions of environmental protection, the company Long-term 'massive' procurement contracts will be supplied. Although the popularity of electric vehicles is expected to help reduce global carbon emissions, environmental protection activists believe that the production of electric vehicle parts and new mining may damage the environment.